Going Once! Going Twice!
by AProcrastinatingWriter
Summary: Hinata's about to learn that being rescued by a mysterious masked man with a secret identity isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be. Among other things, it can cause your love life to go absolutely freaking insane. OC?xHinataxNarutoxSakura
1. A Dark Auction! Huge Trouble for Hinata!

Hey, a quick question...why is pink considered unmanly?

Hello there! This is AProcrastinatingWriter with my newest story, 'Going Once...Going Twice...' This multi-chapter story is based on an idea by Ackdam, originally published under the title 'Sold', as a HiNaruto (That's, uh, HinataxNaruto) oneshot. I have, of course, changed several things from the original story (For one thing, it's not a oneshot. Ha ha.), but I still wouldn't blame people for screaming 'plagiarism' at me (or worse, at Ackdam). However, there really is no need for this, because I actually contacted Ackdam and told him I wanted to use the idea and wanted to ask permission. He gave me that permission, and so, here we are.

**DISCLAIMER:** Naruto does not belong to me. The man who makes it is named Masashi Kishimoto. He also owns the rights to it. I don't blame you if you still sue me, but don't expect to get much money.

A couple warnings before you continue: Spoilers for the manga abound. Kind of. I haven't actually read the manga, but I'm good at gleaming information from the various geeky websites I visit. That said, I'll probably still get something or two wrong. Feel free to correct, and bear with me until I get aforementioned things corrected. More importantly (important enough to repeat myself): spoilers everywhere, mmkay?

...also, Sauske's in this fic and Sai is not. There's a reason Sai is gone and we'll get into it, and the reason Sasuke is back is because despite his overwhelming evil I do not hate the young man. In fact, I encourage him to seek counseling so they can fix his obviously damaged brain. That's not making fun of him, either, I sincerely believe that Sasuke has gone insane and needs to come back to sanity and get himself off this revenge kick of his.

Well, with that extremely long author's note out of the way, you may get to reading.

WAIT I FORGOT SOMETHING. Okay, um, I only had room for 'Drama' and 'Romance' in the genre selection, but (as with Naruto itself) it is also 'Humor' and 'Adventure'. So be prepared for this story to be just as much of an emotional roller coaster as the TV show and manga (although I don't think I could write something as sad as Gaara's backstory if I tried).

Alright, you can really start now. Sorry about that. Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto was reading a manga he shouldn't have been reading.

That's not to say it was an inappropriate manga. Quite the opposite; this manga was intended for young children. Problem was, though he acted like it sometimes, Naruto wasn't a small child anymore. He was a twenty-year old member of respected society. Twenty-year old members of respected society don't read children's comics.

And even when they do, they don't read them during working hours.

Yes, Naruto Uzumaki was (or, at least, should have been) working at the moment. Hokages do have a lot of paperwork to do, after all. (Occasionally, he used Shadow Clones to get the job done faster, but in general he knew he had to save chakra in case the Village Hidden in the Leaves was ever attacked.) Yes, Naruto had made Hokage, just a little under a year ago, and with, oddly enough, overwhelming support by the Council of Elders.

Life had been good to one Mr. Uzumaki recently. For one thing (besides, of course, being elected Hokage and therefore getting power, money, and respect), he and his long-time crush Sakura had recently started dating. Yes, you read that correctly. Naruto had gotten up the courage (not a difficult task for him) to ask Sakura out one last time and, surprisingly, she said yes.

In reality, though Sakura had come to see Naruto as a good friend and as a hero, she actually didn't see him as a romantic interest, but figured that (since she didn't have a boyfriend and probably wouldn't get one anytime soon) she could afford to humor Naruto and maybe (against all odds) find out if she was still wrong about him. Naruto had his suspicions that she wasn't extremely serious about dating him when she told him that he had permission to ask out other girls, and that she might ask out other guys, just so they could both make sure they were making the right choice. He had his suspicions he was changing her mind about that when, two weeks later out of nowhere and with no obvious cause, she had also made sure Naruto understood that if he actually did, um, certain things with the other girls, that was an entirely different, skull-smashing story.

Naruto wasn't exactly 'romantic', but he had a way of charming a girl. And making her feel like a jerk for not taking him seriously at first. Who knew?

Though neither had any idea where the relationship would go, if it would go anywhere at all, the two were technically a couple, and thus (under Naruto's orders) Sakura was one of the few people allowed to see the Hokage without prior appointments, paperwork, or a large bowl of ramen, ordered out. They'd been caught kissing when Naruto should have been working more than once. Not serious, passionate kissing, mind you, but kissing.

The worst thing that had happened in the past month was that some group of wannabe missing-nin calling themselves the 'Neo-Akatsuki' had been seen, hunted down, and captured with minor casualties. Most had been tried and imprisoned or executed, though a few of the higher-ups were still undergoing interrogation. Little did Naruto know that that sorry group was about to become a distant memory in the face of much, much worse happenings.

The door to the office opened with a slam. Naruto quickly hid his copy of _Mega Ninja Ko_ and tried to look his most serious. "Ah, Sakura, it's great to see you," he said, a smile now brightening his face.

"Lord Hokage..." murmured Sakura, either not noticing the manga or not caring about it, while she leaned over, her hands on her knees and breathing deeply.

Naruto frowned. "Sakura, I told you that you didn't have to call me that." He brightened again. "Anyway, I was just thinking...what would you say if I told you I have reservations-"

"Have you heard?" Sakura shouted, interrupting. "Of course you haven't...you wouldn't be here if you had..."

"What? What's going on?" Naruto asked, now completely serious. He realized that Sakura must be here on business that needed his services as a Hokage, not on business that needed his service as a friend or kind-of boyfriend. That was why she'd called him 'Lord Hokage' before.

A determined, scared look came into Sakura's eye. "Hinata's being auctioned off by the Hyuuga elders."

"...what?" asked Naruto, a dangerous tone coming into his voice.

"Please come with me," said Sakura, somewhere between an exclamation and a statement, running out of the room. Naruto followed quickly. The council would probably be angry with him, but that paperwork was going to have to wait just a little longer.

**0-0-0-0**

"Seriously?" asked Naruto, wanting with all his heart to not believe what his ears were hearing. Sakura nodded, and Naruto gritted his teeth.

They were only a few blocks away from the Hyuuga estate now, and gaining ground rapidly, though not nearly as rapidly as they might have hoped. There was, after all, a large crowd of people in the way, most of them heading in the same direction as Naruto and Sakura were. Naruto stopped momentarily, stunned at how fast word had spread. Sakura took command of the situation. "Alright, everybody, move aside! Sixth Hokage Naruto Uzumaki coming through!"

The crowd parted like the Red Sea. Actually, much less efficiently and much more reluctantly than the Red Sea, but that was the closest analogy available to the situation. Naruto shook his head as he walked through the parted crowd. _-How could this be happening?-_ he thought to himself, hoping there was some detail, any detail, that he had stupidly missed that could, impossibly, turn this situation from a sad one to a happy one. He slowly took the steps forward, subconsciously not wanting to have to react to the situation.

"LET ME IN, YOU STUPID IDIOT MEMBER OF A STUPID IDIOT CLAN!"

Naruto cringed. Ino. Looks like there was a much more immediate situation that needed reacting to. He lifted his head and looked. The rookie nine, minus himself, Sakura, and Hinata and plus Rock Lee and Tenten, were all standing in front of the gate, apparently not having heard Sakura's yelling because they were too busy listening to Ino's yelling. Ino was yelling at a guard stationed in front of the Hyuuga estate's gate, obviously there to prevent people from getting inside.

"Ino, don't you think you should calm down for just a moment?" asked Shino, somehow managing to make himself heard over Ino's ranting without raising his voice at all.

"CALM DOWN?" she shouted, moving quickly over to Shino, who started slightly at her movement. "How can I be _calm_ at a time like this? In fact, how can YOU be calm at a time like this? She's your teammate!"

"Oh!" interjected Rock Lee, looking worried but trying to be youthful all the same. "Fair Blossom Sakura! Lord Hokage Naruto!" he continued, waving at the arriving pair.

Ino looked. Then she smiled. Then she turned back to the poor sap of a guard who probably didn't have anything to do with the bad situation that Hinata was apparently in. "Ha!" she exclaimed, triumphant and finger-pointing. "Now you HAVE to let us in! You see that yellow-haired knucklehead there? That's the Hokage, and I can get away with calling him a knucklehead because he's a close personal friend of mine!" She turned, again, to Naruto. "Tell him off, Lord Hokage, sir!" she smiled.

Naruto blinked. Then, to the guard: "Would you please let me and my friends inside?"

"Of course, Lord Hokage," said the guard, relieved not to have to put up with this strange young lady anymore. Ino wilted at the simplicity of everything, as everyone else (besides Shikamaru) rushed in to see their friend. Shikamaru slowly walked forward, concerned to be sure but seeing no reason to rush. He stopped next to Ino for a second, then grabbed her arm and began pulling her along with him.

"You do realize," he said, "That the guard probably already knew Naruto was the Hokage?"

"I know," said Ino sadly, as the doors began to shut, "But I was trying to make a point...but Naruto had to go and mess the whole thing up, like usual..."

**0-0-0-0**

Neji had met them almost as soon as they entered the compound. Apparently, it was he who had leaked the news of the auction ahead of its official announcement, in hopes that his friends would hear and come to investigate. It had quite obviously worked like a charm.

The group murmured softly to themselves as they walked up the stairs, Neji in the lead and Naruto not far behind him. Neji suddenly stopped, and so did everyone else, realizing where they were. Neji knocked on the door to his left, head turned towards the ground. "Lady Hinata?" he softly asked.

There was great sob from behind the door. "I-it's fine, Neji," Hinata said. "You don't have to call me that anymore..."

Neji's face crumpled, though no one could see. "Hinata..." he said, haltingly. "...you have some visitors."

Hinata sniffled. "Visitors?" she asked, her voice sounding restrained. A few seconds passed, and she opened the door. "Of course," she said softly, eyes closed and mouth upturned in an obviously false smile. She opened her reddened eyes. Then she gasped. "E-everyone!" she stuttered, something now a rarity for her even when she was around Naruto.

Said young man gave that familiar boyish grin as Neji walked away, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hey, there, Hinata," he said. "Mind if we come in?"

Hinata meekly nodded, stepping aside as her friends filed in. She slowly shut the door after checking to see if anyone was coming, then turned. "Hello, everyone," she said. "What brings you all here?"

"What do you think brings us here?" shouted Kiba (who had to leave Akamaru outside), momentarily forgetting it was Hinata, and a saddened Hinata at that, he was talking to. Shino placed a hand on his shoulder, and he shut up, looking shamed.

Tenten leaned forward from her sitting position on Hinata's bed. "We heard about the auction," Tenten said as gently as possible. Everyone looked a little sadder.

Except, Hinata. She looked a lot sadder, suddenly breaking out in tears again. All the kunoichi immediately rushed to her side. "Oh, you poor girl..." murmured Sakura, leading her back towards the group.

"Hinata," said Kiba, unsure of what he was going to say next. Shino tightened his grip on the dog-nin's shoulder. Kiba backed off, retreating to a corner.

A few more minutes of sobbing later, Hinata managed to calm down enough to talk again. "Thank you," she said, and she sobbed again. "Thank you all so much for coming..." and she started to cry again.

"Are you kidding?" asked Chōji, trying not to cry for Hinata's sake. "You're our friend. Of course we'd be here."

Hinata choked out another 'thank you' and just continued crying. Rock Lee shook his head. "How could they..." he murmured to himself. "What a horrible thing to do." And he put his fist to his mouth, shaking his head again.

There was a long silence after that. With comfort from her girlfriends and with her guyfriends standing nearby, she eventually managed to stop crying, though it was obvious she was still upset. "Thank you..." she said again, sniffling.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is so beyond what I have the capacity to describe that it's not even funny," he said. He shook his head. "'A drag' would be pleasant compared to this."

"Why are they..." began Naruto, then, turning to Hinata: "Why did they do this to you?"

Ino looked up, angry. "Naruto! Can't you see Hinata is way too upset-"

"No, no," said Hinata. "You all..." and she sobbed. "You all need to know what happened."

"...okay," said Ino finally. "If you're really ready to tell us."

"It was just a few days ago," Hinata began after a couple seconds, "When the elders came to me and told me that I was no longer part of the main household."

Everyone started at this revelation. "What? Why" asked Sakura, urgently and yet somehow managing to include gentleness in her tone.

Hinata looked downward slightly. "They said that they had the right to put me into the branch whenever they decided...and that my performance as a Hyuuga was not suitable to one to be an heir." She looked back up, sadness creeping across her features. "So, they removed me from the main household as soon as it was apparent Father would not change his mind again." She was speaking of the recent decision by Hiashi to reinstate her as heir to the main house, a decision that could not be overridden by the elders.

"Wait, so the elders can't say Hanabi is heir," asked Shikamaru, "But if they outvote your dad they can decide you're part of the branch family?" Hinata nodded, and Shikamaru shook his head. "Well, that's one way to exploit a loophole...troublesome."

Hinata sniffled again, a few times. "After that, they told me that as a member of the branch family, I was the main house's property." She sobbed suddenly, and then swallowed. "So...they're going to auction me off this Friday at 7:00."

"Auction you off?" shouted Kiba, for even though he already knew the information, hearing it from Hinata made it seem so much more...real. He turned from the corner he'd been in. Repressed tears welled in his eyes. "That's so freaking wrong it's not even funny!" He clenched his fist. "Those sons of...GAH!" And he punched the wall of Hinata's room and, going against every standard he talked about for men when he was in public or hanging out with his friends, began to cry.

Shino reached up and rubbed his eye underneath his sunglasses. Other than this, he showed no visible signs of being saddened by the arrangements. Hinata continued. "They told me that I'd be bid upon by people who wanted me...and whoever has the highest bid..." and she sobbed again, louder and more agonized than she had up until this point in time.

"Hinata?" asked Tenten. "Are you sure that you can finish?" Hinata nodded. "Okay, but..." and Tenten sniffled, tears coming to her eyes. "Just...just continue whenever you're ready, alright? Don't push it..."

Hinata sobbed a few more times, then mainly just cried for a bit. One might not call it 'crying' though, as most of Hinata's tears seemed to have been used up. She swallowed, hiccuped, and continued again. "Whoever has the highest bid gets to have me for the whole night."

"WHAT?" shouted Naruto, standing up. "How dare they?" He had clearly just realized exactly what they were auctioning off Hinata _for_, and so had most everyone else.

Sakura, shocked, covered her mouth with her hand. Tenten gagged, as did Chōji, and several people there recoiled. Shino finally spoke up. "That's horrible," he said simply.

"Those..." Kiba growled, anger barely restrained thanks to his feral nature, "I can't think of the words to describe..." Apparently the words came to him, as he let off a stream of curses that, at any other time, would have gotten him scolded by the girls in the room and even a couple of the guys. This time, though, he was merely saying what they all were thinking.

Hinata spoke again, her voice quiet. "And whoever makes the highest bid...if they are willing to pay five times as much as they bid, they can have me...as their wife."

There was a silence after this. Ino stood up, an absolutely neutral expression on her face. This was a dangerous sign, for Ino was never neutral about anything. "I'm going to give those senile, perverted, greedy old men a piece of my mind!"

"No," said Naruto with an air of finality. Everyone turned to him. He looked angry. Extremely angry. "I'll do it. And they have to listen to me." He smiled, though it still somehow managed to look angry. "I'm Hokage, remember?" He turned to Hinata, smiling. "I'll stop this. No matter what I have to do or say, I'll stop it. That's a promise!"

And with that, and a thumbs up, Naruto confidently strode out of the room. And Hinata instantly felt better.

**0-0-0-0**

The elders were strolling along, supposedly enjoying a walking conference due to the warm sunshine, but secretly eyeing the progress of young Lady Hanabi on the training ground. Strangely enough, she wasn't there. Why could that be, several of the elders wondered.

"Hmm?" said Kasamaru. "Is that..." and all of the elders put on their best smiling faces.

"Lord Hokage," said Aku, "What brings you here?"

"Stop this right now!" said Naruto, not bothering to beat around the bush.

The elders looked at each other, pretending not to know what was wrong. "Stop what, Lord Hokage?" asked Shinratsu.

"You snakes!" exclaimed Naruto. "How dare you sell off Hinata like that?" He growled deep in his throat, and continued as the elders looked surprised. "As Hokage, I order you to stop!"

Shinratsu chuckled. "I am afraid that is impossible, Lord Hokage."

"Why?" Naruto asked, the tone of his voice daring the group of men to answer.

Shinratsu, still smiling, slid a hand from his robe, extending a sheet of paper. "The laws upon which our village was built. Might I refer you to the sixteenth law, section four?"

Naruto grabbed the sheet of paper, face suddenly pale. As Hokage, he had read and memorized all the laws of the land (and my, was that a difficult task) and therefore did not need to look at the paper. Still, he looked at the passage, praying to highest heaven that he was mistaken.

But there was no mistake. The sixteenth law: Prohibitions on the Power of Lord Hokage. Section Four: _The Hokage may not limit free trade (free trade being defined as the selling, buying, or renting of possessions or services with the multi-national currency of ryo) in any way not agreed upon by the alliance of nations, unless in cases of free trade that would be hazardous to the continued existence of __The Village Hidden in the Leaves or its inhabitants._

Naruto gulped. "The contract..."

"You know your history well, Lord Hokage," backhand-complimented Kasamaru with a "genuine" smile on his face. "Yes, under the contract we signed with the Village when our clan agreed to live here, all members of the branch family are to be considered possessions of the main household whenever applicable."

Naruto growled. "Well, the contract also states that after forty years have passed, the terms of the contract may be changed whenever the the Hokage and his council wish! And if you guys disagree, and we can't meet an understanding, the contract is null. That means you're out of the village!" And he chuckled once "And it's been way more than forty years, pal!"

"Ah, yes, too true," stated Shinratsu, who appeared to be taking the lead. "However, as law sixteen, subsection two states, whenever a decision requiring the council is to be made, all council members must be present for it to be official."

"As I recall," said Aku, "One of the council members is on an important peace-keeping mission and will not be back until later next week. Is that correct, Lord Hokage?"

"That is correct," said the young man through gritted teeth. His mind raced for other possibilities. "Her Byakugan could easily be studied if she is sold...an enemy ninja could-"

"Indeed," interrupted Shinratsu, "That is, if the auction were open to anyone other than nobles and ninja specifically of the Fire Nation, and if it were not specifically against the rules we have set in place for the auction for that to occur." He suddenly tilted his head, as if remembering something. "By the way, Lord Hokage, I should like to request a guard be put in place the night of the auction to make sure nothing along these lines goes wrong. We would be willing to pay, of course."

"Of course..." Naruto said, clenching and unclenching his fists, for he knew he could not refuse such esteemed people's request 'without a reason'. He grasped at the last possibility he could think of. "Prostitution. Prostitution is illegal."

Kasamaru chuckled, while Shinratsu's smile increased. "Lord Hokage," he said, "Have you already forgotten? The girl is considered our property, and will be considered our property until such a time as the contract is changed. It is very hard to 'prostitute' a vase or tomato, is it not? And, for now, that might as well be all the girl is."

Naruto's facial muscles twitched while Kasamaru continued. "Not to mention the fact that, technically, we are not prostituting her. We are merely selling a chance to posses her for one night...renting out our property, as it were. What the buyer wishes to do with her is entirely up to him."

"Bull!" spat Naruto, clenching his fists and crouching slightly, as if preparing to attack.

The elders chuckled mockingly again. "Possibly," admitted Shinratsu. "But even if you could prove such a theory, the fact remains that she is but property...and it is not possible, under our current law, to prostitute one's property." There was a short silence. "If that is all, Lord Hokage..." and the elders walked forward, stepping around Naruto as they went. After a few feet...

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Naruto screamed, turning and raising a fist as he ran at the elders. Several turned back, Byakugan activated, but all of those had looks of fear on their faces, for they knew they could not win this fight.

A strong hand grabbed Naruto's fist. "Hold it, Naruto," said the owner of the hand.

Naruto turned to his restrainer, who seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "Sasuke? What are you-"

"Think about it," Sasuke said. "Attacking 'innocent', so called, civilians? You'll be pulled from your position as Hokage faster than I was pulled off the Leaf ninja roster."

"I don't care," said Naruto, meaning it. Several of the elders got back into fighting stances, while the rest wisely chose to just run. "Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it!"

"Naruto!" said Sasuke. "Pull yourself together. You might still be able to help Hinata, but you can only do it as Hokage." His eyes narrowed. "There's no way you're going to help her as a regular ninja, or even a civilian if the judge so decides."

"My, this is ironic," said Aku, "The traitor is giving advice on the law to our Hokage! This sets up an odd precedent, don't you think?" Sasuke and Naruto ignored him, knowing he was just trying to goad Naruto into attacking. Well, Sasuke ignored him, anyway.

"Don't do it, Naruto," whispered Sasuke. "Don't do it."

Naruto struggled a bit more, then relaxed. He sighed. "Yeah...you're right." He looked up. "Heh. Thanks, Sasuke."

"That all being said," Sasuke continued, releasing Naruto and activating his Sharingan while he turned towards the elders. "I'm already no longer a ninja, and I'm used to spending time in jail, so..."

The elders decided things would be for the best if they just ran.

**0-0-0-0**

"Do not worry, Bright Sunshine of the Hidden Leaf Village," Rock Lee said, sitting next to Hinata, who had begun to be worried after Naruto had taken so long getting back and they had heard noises sounding suspiciously similar to fighting outside. "Naruto gave you a thumbs up and a smile! That means that his promise to you was the promise of a life-"

The door opened, and Naruto walked in. "Naruto!" said Hinata. Her face brightened. _-I knew he would come through for me!-_

"Hmm?" asked Sakura. "Where's Sasuke? He left a little bit after you did, saying he was going to go find you and talk to you about something..."

Naruto smiled despite his inner worry. Sakura still worried about Sasuke, even after deciding it was for the best if she moved on with her life to loving someone else a few years back, as then it didn't seem like he'd be back (or sane) anytime soon. "Heh, don't worry. Sasuke just had something he needed to take care of."

"Fire Style! Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" came a voice from a distance.

"GAAAAAH!" came the voice of one of the elders at approximately the same time. A large sound of burning came after it.

"Remind me to place him under arrest later and give him...I dunno, fifty hours of community service or something," said Naruto, putting his arms behind his head. He walked over to Hinata, who stood, an unparalleled smile on her face.

"I knew that you'd come through for...me..." she said, voicing her thoughts but trailing off as she watched the way Naruto's face fell. They stood in silence for a few seconds.

Naruto finally looked up. "I'm sorry, Hinata."

Hinata grasped at her heart, as her face switched 180 degrees to a look of abject fear. She took several deep breaths. Then, she seemed to calm down, head drooping and arm doing so as well.

"Hinata," breathed out Tenten.

"Are you okay?" asked Kiba, knowing the answer was 'no'.

Hinata's walls crumbled and fell, and Naruto drew her into a hug as she began to cry again. He looked over his shoulder at Sakura, apologizing with his eyes that he wouldn't be able to make those reservations he'd been talking about earlier. Sakura nodded. Naruto closed his eyes. "Hinata..." he murmured. "We're not beaten yet...and I made a promise. I'll find a way...I swear it to you. I"ll stop this."

Hinata stopped crying, but she didn't let go of Naruto. She slowly looked up at him. Leftover tears ran down her face. "I know you will," she said smiling a sincere, sad smile. "Because that's your ninja way."

**0-0-0-0**

Naruto was in his office, where he'd been ever since he'd left the Hyuuga estate. He'd left as soon as he could, running all the way back and shoving all things unrelated to the case at hand off of his desk. There he'd begun to shout orders and get out laws and paperwork.

_-I knew it,-_ he said to himself, angry as all get-out. _-I knew as soon as I read that contract that I should have done something...but I kept putting it off for paperwork and accounting and negotiations...- _And he growled, flipping furiously through the book in front of him. "Any word from Council Member Ryu?" he asked after several minutes.

"Not yet, Lord Hokage," reported a secretary. "We will let you know the instant anything happens on that front."

"Good," said Naruto, turning back to the book in front of him. Time passed. He barkedo ut more orders. People came and went, each offering advice and expertise. His eyes raced furiously across the pages of the book he was reading. _-They haven't put the curse mark on yet because it would decrease her value,- _he guessed. _-That's good, at least.- _He looked up. "Any news on curse mark removal techniques?" Though Hinata didn't have the curse mark, there were others in her family who did. And he wanted to help them, too.

"We're making slow progress," said the head of the medical ninja he had requested help his research (seeing as he knew nothing about medicines or curse marks), "But progress nonetheless."

"Good," said Naruto. Then he murmured to himself: "With the council's support, I should be able to get rid of their stupid main and branch family system entirely..."

**0-0-0-0**

11:53 PM at the Hyuuga estate. Hinata had just bade farewell to the last of her friends, ANBU were outside to present Sasuke with a court order saying to show up tomorrow at the Hokage's office for sentencing, and all the elders were receiving medical treatment for mild bruises, burns, and one case of a severely stubbed toe. Also severe mental trauma.

Hinata made her way back to her room, and lay herself on her tear-stained bed. She gave a great sigh, indicating great grief. _-Naruto,-_ she thought, blushing slightly at the thought of her somewhere-between-crush-and-true-love.

**0-0-0-0**

"Naruto?" asked Sakura, opening up the door to the Hokage's office.

She looked around. The place was almost deserted, save Naruto and beyond a mess. Scrolls and heavy-looking books (both physically heavy and intellectually heavy) were everywhere, herbs and minerals lay in various bowls, and Naruto himself? Naruto was slumped over his desk, looking absolutely exhausted. A messenger bird was sitting next him, the message laying on Naruto's other side.

"Naruto..." Sakura murmured, amazed. She let off a small, sad smile as she walked into the room. She leaned over slightly, gently placing a hand on her semi-boyfriend's shoulder. "Naruto, you're working way too hard," she chided as he slowly sat up.

**0-0-0-0**

_-Naruto works too hard for my sake,- _Hinata thought._ -He works too hard for everyone's sake.- _She smiled. _-He never gives up, no matter what happens. That's why...-_ and she swallowed, blushing some more. _-That's why I love him.-_

Her confession those few years ago hadn't gone unnoticed, she knew. She'd heard about what Naruto did after her nearly being killed. But the evidence seemed to indicate that he had forgotten all about that moment. Hinata didn't blame him; short-term memory loss was apparently common for Naruto after he unleashed the Nine-tailed Fox's power. Besides, even if he had remembered, it was painfully obvious that his heart still belonged to Sakura.

And now Sakura's heart apparently belonged to him.

**0-0-0-0**

Though she tried to hide it, and he didn't notice, when Naruto looked up and gave that familiar boyish fox-like grin of his, Sakura's heart did a flip. She'd been feeling like this more and more lately as she realized what an incredibly sweet and caring and strong guy Naruto was.

She was so glad she'd given him a chance. (Though, looking back, she couldn't honestly say she was glad she'd reacted in _exactly_ the way she had.)

"Hey, Sakura," he said, and though his grin stayed on his face, something in his eyes looked...sad. Sakura's heart did another flip, but this time it wasn't for joy. It was for the same reason a shinobi might do a flip in real life: to get out of the way of potential danger. "How's it going?"

"Never mind that now," Sakura said, subconsciously tightening her grip on his shoulder. "What about...what about Hinata?"

The grin dropped off of Naruto's face. He looked serious. She didn't see that very often.

It scared her to think about it.

**0-0-0-0**

It scared Hinata to think about it.

Naruto was Hokage. He had every opportunity in the world to marry whomever he chose. Heck, if he really wanted to, he could order one of the village kunoichi to marry him, and she would have to obey whether she liked him or not.

_-But Naruto would never do that,-_ Hinata thought. _-He is too kindhearted to do such evil things.-_ She sighed. _-But then, what girl would not like him?-_

What girl wouldn't like him, indeed? He had power and prestige, so that took care of the shallow girls. But for those who wanted more, Naruto was kindhearted, stout-hearted, strong-willed, an excellent shinobi, loyal to his friends and his village and faithful to his word. Not to mention (to go back to shallowness) the fact that his features had gotten very handsome in the past couple of years.

And he'd had excellent muscle tone for much longer than that.

Hinata longed to know that the he, the prankster king and the Sixth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, was hers, and she, undeserving as she felt she was, was his, and yet he was not hers. He was Sakura's. They were a couple.

But she knew: they were not "going steady." She had every opportunity to repeat her confession. She had every opportunity to ask him to be hers, to woo him as Sakura wooed him, to prove to him that out of all the princesses, nobles, kunoichi and citizens, and even compared to Sakura Haruno, the girl named Hinata Hyuuga was the girl for him. But she never took the opportunities.

_-I'm nothing but a coward.-_

**0-0-0-0**

As long as she could remember, Sakura had always thought herself a coward.

She was always in the background for so long. She never did anything. She was useless. And she wasn't useless for lack of capacity, either. She had had so much untapped potential. And the only thing keeping her from accessing that potential was fear. Fear of dying. Fear of losing her friends. Fear of losing Sasuke. You would think all that fear would have helped. But no. It never did, because she never faced her fears.

Yet Naruto fell for her anyway, and she always wondered why. Why would he love such a useless girl? What could she offer him that other girls could not? Why fall for a coward, when he was so brave? He was always so brave. So brave for _her_. He did everything for her. So she tried to be brave again. Tried one last time, for Naruto more than anything. And she succeeded.

But now? Now, when she'd gotten over all those fears? When she'd tapped into her vast potential? She was looking at Naruto, and she could see he was more than sad. Looking into those bright blue eyes, she could see that Naruto Uzumaki, the most fearless person she knew...

...was scared.

And that realization scared her, more than any other fear ever had, to her very core. "What about Hinata, Naruto?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.

**0-0-0-0**

Hinata was beginning to panic. _-What if this can't be stopped?-_ she thought, beginning to hyperventilate. Her thoughts began to scatter across the four corners of imagination, digging into the darker corners of her mind, taking root and nourishing themselves on worry and sadness. _-I'll have to go with somebody...and I'll have to...-_ she gagged, resisting the urge to heave as sweat gathered on her forehead. _-And worse! What if...someone has enough money and makes me their...their wife?-_

The most evil and undesirable men Hinata could imagine flashed in her mind. To be married to one of them? _-No!-_ she thought. _-Do not think of such things...perhaps he will be nice?-_ And better images passed through Hinata's mind. Handsome, dashing, polite men...men who would not force themselves on her, but were too captivated by her beauty or personality to let the chance to get to know her as a person slip by...

Hinata shook her head, as tears came to her eyes. _-No matter how kind a man he is, no matter how strong, he will never be...-_

Naruto.

Hinata calmed down instantly as she focused her entire world upon the one she loved. That was a common occurrence. Just the thought of Konoha's number one hyperactive knucklehead was enough to calm any dark storm swelling in her mind. Her faith in him was absolute.

_-Naruto will find a way to get me out of this,-_ she thought. She closed her eyes, and for the first time in a few days, began to fall asleep peacefully. _-I know he will...I'm so sorry I lost faith in him...even for a second...-_

_-I know he'll save me.-_

**0-0-0-0**

"I've tried everything I can think of to save her," Naruto said. "But the only way I can find to stop the auction is to get the legality of it voted on before it happens." He looked at Sakura. "I managed to contact Ryu...the 'missing' Council member...so we can vote."

Naruto didn't continue. "So...so what did he say?" Sakura said, fearful that she already knew the answer.

Naruto closed his eyes. "He said that he is hurrying the fastest he can, but that the earliest he can be back by is..." and he paused. He opened his eyes and bit his lip. "...Saturday morning."

Sakura gasped, pulling backwards and bringing her hand to her mouth. "But...but the auction is..."

"Friday," mumbled Naruto, turning back to his desk. He sighed. "Too early." There was silence for a few minutes.

"Oh my gosh..." murmured Sakura, taking a deep breath. This was horrible.

Naruto gritted his teeth for the thousandth time that day, closing his eyes. "I've been trying so hard...so hard to get that stupid system those..._monsters_ have in place to be changed, but the council always..." He shook his head. "They'll agree with me this time. One day...one day too late." He opened his eyes, and he began to shake. "I tried...I tried so hard to change things...to make everything better..."

Sakura slowly brought her hand back down. "Naruto..." she said comfortingly, stepping forward with her arm now outstretched. She saw something in Naruto's eyes that looked familiar and unwanted.

Naruto suddenly growled, picking up the chair he was sitting in as he stood up. He threw the chair at the wall, yelling some meaningless word and causing the bird to take flight again, fleeing from Naruto out the window. He took a few deep breaths as Sakura became scared again. Not for her sake-she knew he'd never hurt her-but for Naruto's sake.

"WHY?" he shouted, then turned to Sakura a few seconds later. Barely restrained anger (though Sakura could tell she was not the target) danced in his eyes. "I became Hokage so I could protect everyone! And now...and now..." and he calmed down for a moment, taking a few more deep breaths. Then, with another shout, he pushed all the various papers and scrolls off of his desk. "And now you're telling me I can't save ONE SINGLE PERSON?"

There was a silence after that. Sakura looked close to crying. Naruto beat her to the punch. She instantly stopped as soon as she saw. "Naruto..." she gasped, now more fearful than ever. Naruto crying was even more unnatural than Naruto being afraid.

"I don't know, Sakura..." he choked out. He looked up at Sakura. "I don't know what to do..." and he sobbed. Sakura instantly forgot every one of her fears, and ran around the table, pulling Naruto into her embrace. He cried on her shoulder for quite some time, obviously a vulnerable moment for him.

Outside the window, atop the mountainside image of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, a figure stood, watching Naruto and Sakura take comfort in each other. After a short time, he turned and slowly walked away.

* * *

Yes, yes, I know, not much of a cliffhanger considering everyone already knows approximately what's going to happen. Still, it's a good point to stop at considering the flow of the narrative.

Forgive me for taking liberties with Naruto's memories, though if you think about it there is a small amount of precedence for Naruto not remembering **quite** what happened after coming out of 'Kyuubi' mode. Also, forgive me for use of the English dub jutsu names in this chapter, and all future ones, and the lack of honorifics ('-chan', '-san') and lack of 'dattebayo' as well. Actually, don't forgive me; I'm not sorry.

...also, before you read the next chapter, take a guess: there's one thing left Naruto hasn't tried yet that might get Hinata out of this situation. It should be rather obvious, but then again humans tend to overlook the obvious a lot. Take your best guess, and thanks for reading!


	2. We've Got a Plan! Help Is On Its Way!

Hey, a quick question...why are tennis balls fuzzy?

Hello, there, this is AProcrastinatingWriter saying 'welcome to chapter two.' Good job making it this far; I'm sure you've had a difficult time. This one's much better written than the first chapter, I promise.

Alright, not much else to say besides that, except that I hope whoever's reading this enjoys. Now I'll just disclaim everything again and you can get to reading.

**DISCLAIMER:** Naruto still does not belong to me. Ownership of it has not changed since last chapter. You still won't get much money if you sue me. I like cereal. I'm feeling apathetic right now.

...my word, I sound grumpy. Um, let me think...peanut butter chocolate cups and pretty girls. There, all better! Have a nice read!

* * *

If dead ends were dynamite, Naruto guessed he could blow up the planet Mars by now.

Monday was nothing but hard work as Naruto put all of his effort into finding a solution to their problem. Sakura checked in occasionally, making sure he didn't work himself to death. And, much to his stomach's relief, often bringing ramen with her.

Tuesday and Wednesday passed much the same. Naruto did research into every loophole he could think of. He studied every type of jutsu that he thought might be useful and attempted to wrap his mind around every conceivable angle of metaphorical and literal attack.

It was early on Thursday morning when, going against everything he usually stood for, Naruto gave up. Well, not really. He'd have been someone besides Naruto if he actually had given up. Still, he was forced to admit to himself that he really had no idea where to go from here. He lay back in his chair and closed his eyes. He hadn't gotten any sleep in the past few days and was dead tired, but then again he had been more tired before for much less important things. Surely he could stay awake, but he just needed to rest his eyes a little right now...

Oh, who the heck was he kidding?

A knock came at the door a few minutes later. Naruto sat up and woke up at the same time, yawned, and then murmured "Come in..."

The door opened to reveal Neji Hyuuga. "Lord Hokage," he said, entering. He closed the door, then scanned the room with his eyes to see if anyone else was in the room. "Naruto."

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Naruto a little grumpily. Neji looked around again, this time with Byakugan enabled. After being absolutely satisfied no one was watching, he breathed outward. Naruto hadn't realized Neji had been holding his breath. Neji must be nervous..._-And my lack of sleep must be affecting my senses,-_ Naruto thought, blinking rapidly in an effort to get back on top of the game.

"Lord Hiashi wishes to let you know that the majority of Fire Nation nobles who have stated they are participating in the auction have arrived." Neji leaned forward slightly. "They will be meeting at the auction house at 7:00 Friday." Neji paused, leaning forward slightly some more. "That makes sense, since it's the time of the auction, that they'd be meeting them. Not, say, 3:00 in the afternoon today. They definitely will not be meeting then." Neji outright walked up to Naruto's desk and leaned forward on it. "So if anybody happens to be meeting at the auction house at 3:00 today, it will not be the Fire Nation Lords. It will be somebody besides them. Perhaps even people plotting to stop the auction." He leaned off the desk, standing up straight. "That was what I was instructed to let you know."

Naruto blinked, frowning in some kind of reverse smirk. "...subtle, Neji, real subtle. Did you come up with that code all on your own?"

"Shh!" snapped Neji, bending over again, finger to his lips. He looked around. "Lord Hokage," he said, pretending the bending-over-and-shushing was half of a bow, which he now completed. He turned and walked out of the room, glancing conspicuously over his shoulder every couple of seconds when he could have just used his Byakugan.

Naruto sighed after Neji left. _-Note to self: never send Neji on a stealth-based mission if anything personal to him is on the line...- _

**0-0-0-0**

Naruto arrived at the auction house at 2:55 PM sharp. Everyone else (minus Hinata) appeared to be there already. Naruto guessed she would be there too, if she probably wasn't being held under guard. "Naruto. That means everyone is here," and Neji gave a sigh of relief. "I am glad all of you saw the hidden meaning in my code."

Everyone sweatdropped. _-Hidden meaning?-_ thought Sakura.

_-He just flat out told me to be here! What the heck is this 'hidden meaning' he's talking about?-_ thought Tenten.

_-You wrote me a note in backwards letters,-_ thought Shikamaru, slightly angry despite himself. _-I don't think they even teach 'code' that basic in the first year of the academy...-_

"Hm. To think it was only a few years ago that I would have been far too happy to see Hinata in a situation like this," Neji mumbled, sounding shamed. "But that is a moot point," he shook his head. "What I have come here to discuss," he said, as he turned on his Byakugan. He looked around, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "Lord Iashi-Hay ealized-ray something while alking-tay with me this orning-may."

Everyone sweatdropped again, but decided not to comment. Not even in their heads. "What did he realize?" asked Shino, pushing up his sunglasses.

Neji coughed. "I believe I shall let him tell you himself." He stepped aside, and a figure walked from the shadows from behind where Neji used to be.

_-Oh my gosh,-_ Ino thought.

_-S-seriously?-_ thought Chōji.

_-You've gotta be kidding me!-_ thought Sakura, faceplaming. Naruto facepalmed too, and it takes a lot to make Naruto facepalm.

_-...I have just got to be dreaming,- _thought Shikamaru.

Hiashi stood there, standing proud and tall. With a false mustache on. A very large and cheesy false mustache. _-That's it,-_ thought Naruto. _-None of them. None of them are ever going on stealth based missions when their personal lives are on the line. Ever.-_

"Good afternoon," said the esteemed Hyuuga, stroking his mustache. "I am Lord...um...Hiashimoshi." He coughed. "And I have called you all here for a very specific reason."

"To stop the elders from auctioning off Hinata, right?" asked Shikamaru.

Kiba smirked. "Just tell us what we gotta do, old man!" 'Hiashimoshi' glared at him. "...sir."

Hiashimoshi closed his eyes. "Yes, well...I heard from Neji that our Hokage and his council are deciding on the legality of the auction this coming Saturday."

"If everything goes well," said Naruto. "There is a possibility that the last member of the council will not arrive in time." He frowned slightly. "There's also technically the possibility that they'll decide against me, not with me, but I'm trying not to think about it..."

"There is no need to worry," said 'Hiashimoshi', stroking his chin. He stopped and raised a finger in the air, waving it occasionally for emphasis. "The elders have actually caught a certain scent on the wind." He smiled slightly. "Several of the council members' positions have changed on the Hyuuga clan's main house recently. And not for their better."

"That makes sense," said Shino. "I was wondering why they'd draw attention to themselves with this auction. It seems that attention has already been drawn to them, and they're just trying to make a profit before their assets collapse."

"Yeah, and stick it to Hinata in the process," said Ino angrily. "I guess she was too gentle for _their_ Gentle Fist Style, and now they want revenge." She shook her head. "I swear, if I wouldn't get arrested for it-"

Sasuke spoke up. "I can go back, if you like. Teach them another lesson."

Ino thought about it momentarily. "Nah, it wouldn't be the same."

Chōji spoke up next. "Um, no offense, but can we keep this moving?" He looked around at everyone. "I mean, we don't exactly have a lot of time here."

"Chōji's right," said Tenten. "We need to know what the plan is."

"Right," said 'Hiashimoshi', "Of course." And with that, he made a sign or two (It was done kind of fast, so most of the people in the room couldn't be sure how many signs there were), and a briefcase popped into existence. The head of the Hyuuga household set it on the floor, and opened it. Everyone gasped.

"Holy hand signs!" said Kiba, "You could buy enough dog treats to last you a lifetime and still have enough left over for ninja tools with all that cash!" Akamaru started drooling, getting easily distracted by the thought of dog treats. (He snapped out of it quickly.)

"Seriously," said Ino. "That is a LOT of dough!"

Naruto blinked. Then he scratched his head, looking sheepish. "Oh, yeah. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Hmm? Think of what?" asked Sakura.

Shikamaru smirked. "Of buying Hinata for ourselves, that's what."

THONK!

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF DOING THAT?" Ino shouted as Shikamaru held his head in agony.

"Not like that, Ino," Neji clarified.

"Indeed," said the 'stranger' as he stroked his mustache. "You see, I am of course not allowed to buy Hinata myself, coming from the Hyuuga clan as I do." He closed his eyes, moving his hand to his chin.

"Why would you want to, you dirty old man?" shouted Ino. 'Hiashimoshi' sweatdropped.

"Ino, please use your head," said Sasuke, having figured things out along with...well, everyone except Ino. Including Naruto. "He isn't buying her for sex, you know."

Ino blinked. "Then...why buy her?"

"You're forgetting," said Shikamaru, still rubbing his head, "That whoever wins the bid doesn't get Hinata permanently, just for one night." He closed his eyes, head now pointed towards the ceiling. "Likely the elders plan, if they happen to be wrong about the council, on using her in this way again and again until she loses her youth and beauty or until someone snaps her up as his wife."

"But they're not going to be wrong about the council," interjected Naruto. "I'll make sure they side with me!"

"Exactly," said Shikamaru. "So by Saturday morning, this practice will be illegal, and the elders will be out of power." And he opened his eyes, looking back at Ino. "So, how long do we need to keep Hinata away from the elders for if we never want anyone to force themselves on her?"

Everyone could almost see the idea bulb go off next to Ino's head. "I get it!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist into her palm. If we buy Hinata and don't do anything to her, that means that no one will ever buy her again, and then it'll be like no one bought her at all!"

"Finally she gets it," breathed out Shikamaru.

"Indeed," said Shino.

"I gotta admit, Ino, I was a little surprised it took you that long to understand," said Chōji. "Usually you're quicker on the uptake than that."

"Seriously!" said Naruto, sticking out his tongue, winking and pointing at himself with his thumb. "I mean, even _I _got it pretty quickly! You should have been able to get it easy!" Everyone had a good chuckle at this one, besides Ino, who was looking more and more embarrassed.

"Guess that just proves I'm the smarter one between you and I," said Sakura, shrugging. Ino fumed, but held her tongue, knowing more important things than her personal feud with her best friend were going on.

"So, let me make sure I have this straight," said Tenten. "You want us to use this money to buy Hinata for you?"

"It makes sense," spoke up, again, Sasuke. "He can't use his own money, so the next best thing is to get someone else to use his money for him."

"Exactly," said 'Hiashimoshi'. "But, there is one more thing I am afraid I must ask that you all do for me."

Everyone paid slightly more attention upon hearing these words. Now it was Neji's turn to speak up. "My...associate is worried that, even with his vast resources, he will not have enough money to purchase Hinata for the night."

"That's true," said Kiba. "From what I hear, there are some pretty heavy rollers coming tomorrow for the chance to..." and instead of finishing his sentence, he shivered slightly, disgusted at the thoughts coming to his head.

"Indeed," continued Neji, "Which is why, I am afraid that my friend and I must-"

"We must ask you to put in whatever you can!" interrupted Hiashi, unknowingly showing everyone (who already knew, of course) who he really was as his mustache fell off of his face. He got upon his knees, bowing low. "Please! I beg of you! Whatever you can, to..." he looked up, and everyone started. Hiashi Hyuuga was crying. "Save my daughter...please." And he had obviously forgotten he was supposed to be in disguise with that last sentence.

_-Hiashi...-_ Naruto thought. In all the years that he had known Hiashi, he had suspected more and more each day that there really was a father underneath all the 'sturm und Byakugan', but he had never received confirmation until just now. And what confirmation! Hiashi was obviously desperate and deeply saddened, and that was _not _his usual manner of acting.

Hiashi bowed low again, as no one had yet responded. "Please," he sobbed. "Please help me! I'll do anything! Just please...please help me to help her!" And he sobbed again, facial muscles tightening as he tried to hold back his many tears.

Everyone was silent for a few more seconds. Suddenly, Naruto grunted, grinning that familiar grin. "Well, that's two promises of a lifetime in a week!" he said, bringing his thumb quickly across his nose. "Being the Hokage sure can be tough sometimes..."

"Hey, if it helps you out, I'll make the same promise!" said Sakura, grinning as she turned to her boyfriend-esque. "After all, what are girlfriends for?"

Kiba turned to Akamaru, smiling. "Whaddya say, boy? Think you can stand to go without that extra helping of food for a week or two?"

"Bark!" barked Akamaru. It was obvious to everyone, especially Kiba, that he was saying 'yes'.

"If Akamaru can do it, so can I!" shouted Chōji, determined. "No in-between meal snacks for me! Chips begone!"

Everyone gasped, loudly. After a few seconds, Sasuke spoke up once again. "Well, I'm not going to lose to chubby over there at anything." He smiled. "Guess I'll just have to improvise to get my hands on some ryo." He suddenly frowned, putting his hands together in front of his lips. Obviously, Sasuke wasn't the creative type.

Ino giggled. "I'll set up a kissing booth! The boys'll come flocking!"

"And why would that be? To laugh?" asked Sakura. Ino turned on her and started glaring daggers. Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino.

Shikmaru sighed, though he was smiling. "Just like old times," he mumbled. "Anyway, I've got a ton of ryo saved up since my preferred form of entertainment costs time, not money. It's a drag to spend it all at once, but this is important. Besides, I'm sure I could make the biggest donation."

Shino smiled behind his collar. "The Aburame clan is moderately welathy. I'm sure once they know the importance of the mission we've been assigned that they'll cough up a..." and he coughed. "...'sizable chuck of change', as it were."

"Did Shino just use some kind of slang?" asked Tenten. Then she smiled. "Well, at any rate, I've got a lot of broken weapons on hand. I'm sure I can sell them for scrap metal." She smiled even wider. "That should bring in some extra cash!"

Neji turned to his uncle. "Though my duties as a member of the branch family prevent me from using any of my free time to earn more cash," and he gave a small smile, "I will donate whatever I possibly can. You have my word on that, Lord Hiashi...moshi."

"Th-thank you..." murmured Hiashi as he stood up, tears falling freely now. "Thank you all so much!" Her choked. "I owe you all m-"

The doors suddenly opened with a clang. Everyone stood on guard, suddenly realizing that maybe Neji was right to be paranoid after all. They all changed their minds when Rock Lee suddenly walked in, out of breath. "I am sorry I am late!" he said, apologetically. "I spotted Neji's odd manner of speaking immediately and figured out that he must have been speaking in code!" He looked sheepish. "But the code was most formidable. Even with Gai-sensei's help, I was not able to figure out its secret until just a few minutes ago." He looked triumphant. "But I am here now! And as they say, 'Better if you are late than if you are never there at all!'" He looked thoughtful. "And least, I believe that that is how the saying goes..." He shook his head. "At any rate, please excuse my tardiness! I shall make sure to do two hundred sit-ups later to make up for it! What have I missed so far?"

There was a long, long silence.

"...we forgot all about Lee..." murmured Tenten, feeling very guilty.

"How on Earth did we manage that?" murmured Sasuke, confused as all get-out.

**0-0-0-0**

The hours passed quickly for the group of good-doers. Especially Lee. He was very enthusiastic.

The rules of the 'contest' prevented people from bidding as a group, so everyone had to gather their money in secret. That meant no Hokage ordering everyone in town to give him some money, no Ino using her feminine wiles to get any feudal lords on their side, and no Shikamaru sending for Temari asking for money (as the communication might get intercepted).

Everyone pulled their weight and more, as befitting shinobi and kunoichi (or, alternatively, kunoichi and shinobi, for you feminists out there). In fact, at one point you could overhear Tenten telling Sakura and Ino that "Lee actually led Gai-sensei to a private place before telling him that we needed money so that Gai's over-enthusiasm wouldn't cause people to catch on."

"That was thoughtful of him," replied Sakura as Ino nodded.

More hours passed. Ino's kissing booth was remarkably popular. Sasuke's was remarkably unpopular, but he got a couple pity donations. He also was able to convince an air-headed wife of a feudal lord that "she could add tongue for just 5,000 ryo more."** Hinata had better appreciate what I'm doing for her...this woman's a total cow! **Inner Sasuke raged.

That's right, Inner Sasuke. Sasuke now had the disorder that Sakura had long since amalgamated with. You see, in order to suppress his extremely psychopathic urges brought on by trauma and prolonged exposure to curse mark, his therapists had actually suggested (and this was definitely the first time they had done so) he create a split personality, in order to contain the rage until he was able to find a less destructive way to channel it. They were surprised (to say the least) when, minutes after their suggesting it, Sasuke had said he'd accomplished the task through sheer force of will.

But I'm getting off topic. Naruto emptied his wallet (27 ryo) and his piggybank (106 ryo) and considered robbing the treasury and claiming it was for " a new construction project" (and then claiming bandits stole the money when questioned about it later), but decided he'd never get away with it. So Naruto had the worst showing of all, though that was 133 more ryo than they had before.

Chōji won their little contest of "who can help Hinata the most" simply by deciding to abstain from between-meal snacks for a week and setting aside the money he would have used for donation. He would have only earned the second-most, but the fat wife of the feudal lord had talked Sasuke down to 3,500 ryo.

Finally, it was 6:30 on Friday night. Naruto had gotten some much-needed sleep and, with great effort, had caught back up on his paperwork. Kiba and Akamaru figured out how to get Akamaru's long-unused Man-Beast Clone to comfortably walk on two legs so he would be allowed inside the auction house as a human instead of locked out as a mutt. (He wanted to see what happened.) And the others had made their preparations too; Shikamaru's family had even surprised everyone by deciding to throw Hinata a "Freedom Party!" once they got her. So, with everyone ready to go, they gathered in the woods just outside of town to check for any last-minute updates and count their money. There were no last-minute updates. They were pleasantly surprised when they counted the money.

**0-0-0-0**

7:00 sharp. The last of the group walked in: Naruto with Sakura. They avoided going in as a group so as to not attract attention. Ino went in with the money while transformed into the feudal lord of The Land of *ahermmehcoughhack*. She had insisted on being the one with the briefcase.

"I know how to protect myself while I"m transformed," she claimed fifteen minutes ago. "No causal knock or bump is gonna rat me out!" She thought for a second. "Plus, I'm the best one here with money, after all."

_-Riiiight...-_ thought everyone present, deciding not to argue and therefore not waste time.

Five minutes later and ten minutes before the auction, just as the first of them was about to go in, Hiashi met them, trying to make the meeting as inconspicuous and quick as possible. And wearing a trenchcoat and fedora. "Thank you all again," he said. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."

"Don't worry about it," said Naruto. "We were happy to help!" He leaned over to Hiashi conspiratorially. "I even made sure to post the weakest ANBU I could find on guard duty," he whispered.

"YOU IDIOT!" shouted Sakura, bashing him in the head. "SOMEONE BAD COULD STEAL HER AWAY JUST AS EASILY AS SOMEONE GOOD!"

"Probably even easier, considering the bad person would be more willing to break the law," pointed out Tenten.

Ino smiled at Hiashi, deciding to change the subject for both his and Naruto's sake. "And even if someone does outbid us, which I seriously doubt," she said, patting the briefcase, which was bulging and straining. "I can always use one of my clan's jutsu to get them to concede!"

"I think someone would notice that, Ino," said Shino.

"Not if you all got around me in a circle and moved away at the last split-second!"

"I think that would be even more noticeable," mumbled Sasuke. "Like, really noticeable."

Ino sweatdropped, rubbing the back of her head and chuckling nervously. _-This is just not my week...- _

And back to the present, the auction was just about to start. Shinratsu, several bandages covering various burns, pounded a gavel on the auctioneering block. "Thank you all for coming to our little event tonight," he said as everyone quieted down.

Naruto had his arms crossed ever since he entered. After he heard Shinratsu speaking, he tightened his grip on his left sleeve, a simple action he could focus on to prevent himself from getting so angry he jumped on stage and punched the corrupt elder in his ugly jaw. _-You'll be smiling out a different part of your body by the time I'm done with you...-_ Naruto thought. The sleeve-squeezing technique obviously wasn't working.

The elders all stood in a semicircle at the back of the stage. Hiashi was there, too, trying the same sleeve-squeezing trick as Naruto. Looking at his eyes, it didn't appear to be working too well for him, either.

"Now, upon entering the auction house, all of you should have received a paddle. When I start the bidding, anyone who wishes may hold up their paddle and announce their bid. You may do this as many times as you like; the only limit is the amount of money you possess."

_-I think we all know how an auction works,-_ thought Sakura. _-Can we please get this over with?-_

Shinratsu gave off a smile that wasn't quite 'evil' but was definitely 'slimy'. "You all should have received a list of more in-depth rules upon entry, though the rules have been publicly available since Tuesday. Please note that if anyone breaks any of these rules, there are members of the ANBU Black Ops standing guard and ready to make arrests." Shinratsu's smile actually became a little less disgusting as he said his next sentence, and one could be excused for a second for thinking he was a human being. "Don't bother looking around; you won't see them."

Everyone chuckled at this, even Naruto. Hey, even the bad guys make good jokes sometimes. Still, Naruto couldn't resist making a comeback in his head. _-You won't see us coming, either, slimeball.-_

Shinratsu's smile became disgusting again. "And now, please welcome our guest of honor, Hinata Hyuuga, of the branch family!" And he indicated the side of the stage.

Everyone looked as Neji came out, holding a chain. Hinata came shortly behind him. There was a large circular chunk of metal with various sealing jutsus labeled on it around her neck and attached to the chain. Her hands were cuffed in a way that kept the fingers from movement; obviously to prevent her from performing any jutsus. _-I'm so sorry, Hinata...-_ Neji repeated in his head, even though he had told Hinata the exact same thing before he walked onstage. Why did they have to choose _him_?

Neji lead her to the center of the stage amidst various cheers and catcalls. If one watched the audience carefully though, you would see that a small, vocal minority of the audience was the one that was doing it all. Apparently most of the people there were there for the same reason as Naruto and the gang: to observe, be disgusted, and hope that Hinata would get snatched up by someone good. Most entertaining part of the audience to watch by far: the fat wife of the feudal lord, who obviously was not supposed to be there and had just realized exactly what kind of auction this was. Her husband looked nervous. Not that she had any right to complain after what she did to Sasuke's tongue...

Onstage, Hinata looked around nervously. There were so many people here...were they all here for her? She gulped. It was a sick sort of pride though, a kick for her self-esteem. She was popular. As much as the catcalls disgusted her, at least she knew her girlfriends weren't lying: _-I really do have a nice body,-_ she blushed. Every cloud, silver lining.

She looked around the audience some more, then noticed a few people, standing room only, in the back. Naruto was there. She gave a great smile upon seeing him. He smiled right back, though it would have been obviously identifiably false if she had been able to examine his features up close. Naruto, meanwhile, murmured to Shikamaru without the smile leaving his face. "That's disgusting, the way they're parading her around like that."

"It could be worse," Shikamaru mumbled back.

"How could it be worse?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, considering what kind of auction this is, I wouldn't have been surprised if she came out in a bikini a size or two too small." He brought his head down to the left slightly. "Or worse, she could be naked. That wouldn't have surprised me either."

Naruto, meanwhile, looked absolutely horrified. "Oh man..." he mumbled, eyes wide and slumping slightly against the wall. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten would all be mortified if they had to stand up there like that for the attention of some perverted old men and teenagers, nothing they could do about it. Worse, they would be traumatized. If Hinata had to do that, Naruto would simply expect her to shut down entirely, or maybe go insane and try to kill everybody. Or, slightly better but not by much, just break down and start sobbing uncontrollably on stage.

"I suppose we should just be glad the elders apparently didn't think of that idea," Shikamaru said. "Count our lucky stars, as it were."

"Yeah..." Naruto responded as Shinratsu started going into exactly why Hinata was such a catch, describing her physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional qualities in beautiful, glowing terms that flowed from one to the next. Odd how none of those descriptions made anyone decide that Hinata shouldn't be sold as a slave.

"Then again, we may not have lucked out just yet," said Shikamaru. "After all, they could simply strip her now onstage to make things more erotic." He closed one eye, thinking for a minute while Naruto stood up straighter, stunned. "Or just flat out make her do a striptease. It'd be kind of hard to do with those handcuffs, I admit, but-"

"SHIKAMARU!" Naruto shouted. Several people turned to look, but only nearby them. "...sorry," he apologized.

After everyone turned away, Shikamaru leaned close to Naruto and whispered. "No, I'm sorry. I just tend to think of the worst possible scenario when judging things, and I forget that that's not always what people want to hear." He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder after a few seconds of no response. "I'm worried about her, too."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks," he said, although Shikamaru's worry didn't exactly help him worry less.

Meanwhile, up onstage, Hinata was thinking, ignoring the flowery praises that the evil man standing next to her obviously didn't mean. _-Naruto's always so confident,-_ she thought. _-And rightfully so...he always comes through for everybody.-_ She looked worried for a second. _-What if...what if he doesn't come through this time?-_ she thought. She shook her head. _-No! He will! He will save me! And...and even if he doesn't...I will forgive him! He deserves all the second chances in the world!- _And yet, despite her strong words, a small, small seed of doubt had been planted in a corner of her mind so deep, she wasn't even aware of it.

"...with raven hair and moonlit skin, this gothic beauty is quite the catch! But her personality is as bright as her namesake!" He pounded his gavel, breaking Hinata from her thoughts. "Ladies and gentlemen, what am I bid?"

Hinata blushed _-This auction is open to...ladies, too?-_ she thought. She had just barely managed to get used to the idea of a choiceless one-night stand with a strange man! And even then, only if she didn't think about it too much...now having to spend it with a strange _girl_? Hinata shivered, wishing she could just run away.

"5,000 ryo!" came a voice from the audience a split second after Shinratsu finished speaking.

"6,000 ryo!"

"6,500!"

"7,000 ryo!"

"8,000 ryo!"

"10,000!"

Hinata blushed, an odd sort of self-esteem boost coming up inside her again as most of the hopefuls dropped out of the competition. _-Am I really worth that much?-_

"10,050!"

"10,055!"

Shino narrowed his eyes where he sat. _-The bids are lowering in amount of difference each time. Is now our time to strike?-_

"12,000!" yelled a feudal lord in the back who had seemed to be on the fence about bidding for a while. More than half of the current hopefuls groaned and visibly dropped out, setting down, or breaking, or (in one case) tossing away their paddles.

_-Come on, Ino, what are you waiting for? Make the bid!-_ thought Tenten.

"13,000 and 500 ryo!"

Akamaru growled to Kiba, who was sitting next to him. "I agree, boy," said Kiba. "Ino's taking way too long."

"15,000 ryo!"

There was a short silence. Shinratsu spoke up. "We have 15,000 ryo! My, quite a steal if this young lady goes for such a small fraction of what she is worth! Are we bid any more? Anyone?" he looked around the room. "Going once!"

"15,500 ryo!" said the same feudal lord as before.

"We have another bid!" shouted Shinratsu.

_-We can beat that,-_ thought Chōji. _-Why haven't we bid yet? Is something wrong, Ino?-_

"16,800!"

"17,000 ryo!"

"18,000!" The bidding had picked up in amount again, despite the fact that only a few people appeared to be left bidding now.

"We have 18,000!" shouted Shinratsu. "Come on, folks! If you don't bid now, don't blame me when you go home having earned nothing but the after-auction dinner!"

A woman looking to be in her early thirties, wearing a not-very-revealing but very tight ensemble, actually stood up and raised her paddle. "19,500 ryo," she said, smirking.

Hinata visibly paled. Shinratsu was about to speak up, when the very same feudal lord finished speaking to his advisor. "20,000!" The woman who bet 19,500 fumed and sat down.

_-Come on, Ino! 25,000! For the sake of Hinata! I am certain no one will be able to beat you!- _thought Rock Lee.

"We are bid 20,000 ryo! Such a bargain!" smiled Shinratsu. "Any other bids? Perhaps some of the shorter people in the audience may want to stand up so I can see them better." Another look over the audience. "No one? Going once!" He looked around again. "Going Twice!"

_-INO!-_ shouted everyone in their heads.

Suddenly, in the approximate middle of the crowd, a strange-looking (though not ugly) feudal lord stood up with a bulging suitcase full of money. He held up his paddle in the most over-the-top way possible, and then, pronouncing each syllable to the maximum effect, "EIGHTY-SIX THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN RYO!"

The crowd went into hysterics (especially the previous feudal lord) as Shinratsu nearly fell on his backside. The only ones not in hysterics were the other people in on the plot (as it was obviously Ino who bid), who were simply stunned, not outright blown away.

_-WAY TO WAIT TILL THE LAST SECOND, INO-PIG!- _thought Sakura angrily. _-GEEZ!-_

_-I...is that why she really wanted the briefcase?-_ thought Tenten, confused.

_-Good with money, my foot...- _thought Naruto.

_-The heck was that?-_ thought Kiba. _-And why'd you bid the WHOLE THING?-_

_-I...I do not understand...was she just trying to be dramatic?- _thought Rock Lee. _-Cosmos Flower Ino must learn that there are places and times to be youthful and full of flair, and this is not one of them!-_

_-I was hoping to get some of that back, Ino!-_ thought Sasuke, eye twitching in anger. His inner thought, **DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO DO TO GET THAT MONEY?**

_-Am...am I really worth that much?-_ Hinata thought as her cheeks turned beet red. _-W...why would he think that of me?-_ Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. Shino was not in hysterics. That was to be expected. But...he was smiling? Why was that? Hinata quickly scanned the crowd. All of her friends seemed to be reacting to the grand announcement much less than they should have. She looked to Naruto last, and their eyes caught each other. He smiled, and nodded. Hinata smiled back, blush increasing. _-Naruto...everybody...I knew you would come through for me.-_

Shinratsu gulped as the crowd began to calm down, murmuring about this strange rich man. Then again, they said most rich people were eccentrics..."S...sir, are you...sure you wish to bid that much?"

"Is that a problem?" Ino answered, putting her/his hand on its hip.

"N-no, quite the opposite..." murmured Shinratsu. "I just...are you sure she's really-" Then he stopped himself. What was he saying? He was trying to convince a man NOT to pay them that much! He must be crazy. "Alright, then, if you insist." He looked around the room. "Are we bid any higher than..." he swallowed, then said the next words unbelievingly. "86,579 ryo?" There was no response, except from a couple people shaking their heads.

_-Yes! We've got this!-_ said Tenten in her mind.

_-I"m glad Hinata is safe,- _thought Shino.

"You hear that, Akamaru? We're gonna win!" Kiba whispered to his best friend. Akamaru barked happily in return, as quietly as possible.

Naruto smiled, looking directly at Hinata. His smile was sincere. Hinata blushed heavily, though he couldn't see it. _-I promised you, Hinata.-_ he thought. _-And I never go back on my word.-_ He pumped his arm.

Shikamaru looked over to him. "Don't count your chickens yet, Naruto." He blinked slowly before continuing. "He hasn't said the word sold until he's actually said the word 'sold'."

Naruto turned. "Are you kidding? We've got them beat!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I thought to be Hokage you had to know better than that." He shook his head. "What would happen if you thought that in battle just before the finishing blow, Naruto? Would you drop your guard? Would the enemy strike back?"

Naruto brought his head back. "...but, this is different, Shikamaru! Come on!" Shikamaru didn't reply.

"...alright," said Shinratsu, purposefully having waited longer than normal just in case he could get more money. "If that truly is the final bid...going once! Going twice!"

"Heh, heh, heh..." And that wasn't laughing, either. Someone was literally saying the words 'heh, heh, heh'. Everyone turned. There was a boy sitting there, about sixteen judging by the face and proportions. He was tall and lanky, wearing brown pants and an elegant blue suit. His hair was blue, and his face, voice, and manner were handsome. Still, there was something about him that smudged the beauty on his features. Naruto and his friends could have easily identified that 'something' in a heartbeat if they could get close enough.

After all, they'd fought against Evil enough times before.

"Yes?" asked Shinratsu, a bit confused. "Were you wanting to make a bid?"

"Well," said the youth, raising his paddle into the air. "Why not? Things have gotten interesting." He smirked. "Not to mention that judging by the oddly-numbered amount this gentlemen has bid, I would say he's gone all in. And judging by the way everyone else has gone silent, I should say his bid has everyone beat, so..." and he narrowed his eyes, smirk never moving from his face. "I feel like I'm free to go all in, too." He flipped his longs bangs back from his eyes with a toss of his head. "For the privilege of knowing the girl on the deepest possible physical level..."

_-No...-_ thought Kiba.

_-It can't be!-_ thought Sakura.

Shino's eyes narrowed. _-I was careless...then again, I would not have been able to stop this even if I hadn't been.-_

_-You're kidding!-_ thought Sasuke. **I don't want the money back that badly!**

The youth finally finished his sentence. "...ninety thousand ryo. Cash."

A hush fell over the room. Ino looked particularly devastated as the boy looked her in the eye. "You have ninety thousand-"

"Indeed," said the boy. "And looking at my prize, I should say it was worth every little bit of my allowance this month." He tilted his head, a devilish smirk coming across his face. "Unless, of course, you're hiding a reserve pack of money somewhere?"Ino looked downcast. She in the he body slowly sat down, aghast. The boy's smirk simply grew larger.

"...oh my," said Shinratsu. He swallowed. "I believe we might have a winner!" And he laughed.

_-We were so close! This is just a drag among drags,-_ thought Shikamaru.

Hiashi looked stricken where previously he had looked overjoyed. _-Our plan!- _he thought. _-So close...were were so close. We tried so hard, and we...-_ and he bowed his head, tears welling in his eyes once again.

_-This was not supposed to happen!-_ thought Rock Lee. _-I thought for sure...for my failure to gather enough money, I will...-_ but he could not finish the thought, for no matter how many push-ups he could do he never thought of a high enough number to make up for what had happened.

_-And after we tried so hard,- _thought Tenten. _-I"m so sorry, Hinata,-_

_-Great,-_ thought Chōji sarcastically. _-I got my snack money back...so how come I don't have much of an appetite?-_

"Hinata..."breathed Sakura. She looked to her like-a-boyfriend. "Naruto! We have to do something."

Naruto was breathing heavily, and his eyes were darting around the room. "I can't...I can't do anything..." His eyes widened. "My promise..."

Meanwhile, on stage, Hinata looked absolutely paralyzed. Frozen with terror would be a pleasant alternative to what she was feeling. The seed of doubt had planted itself well, and, instead of sprouting and breaking her faith, had appeared to die when Hinata realized everyone was bidding on her and winning...and then, just as with real seeds growing in nourishing dirt, the living plant grew from the dead seed. And on top of that, she could see. She could _feel_. The true nature of the youth who had bid upon her. He was...horrid. She could tell, somehow.

It made her want to cry, but she couldn't make herself.

"...very well," said Shinratsu giddily. "If that is truly the final bid!" He pounded his gavel. "Going once!" He waited a few seconds. He pounded again. "Going twice!" He waited another couple of seconds.

"One hundred thousand ryo!"

Everyone but Hinata (who remained frozen, for what did it matter who bought her now?) gasped and looked around for the speaker. Perhaps most surprised of all was the blue-haired youth, who stood up, his calm and cool demeanor cracking as he looked around, infuriated, for the voice that called him out and beat his bid. Even the average citizen could tell he was monstrous now, by seeing how he reacted to this loss.

Shinratsu looked around, as did all the other elders. Some put on their Byakugan, but they couldn't see anybody around. Suddenly, when no one was looking at the stage, and those on the stage were all looking away from the center of it, a figure dropped down, landing almost noiselessly, but the sounds of his/her landing amplified by the natural acoustics of the stage.

Everyone turned to the figure as it slowly rose up from the crouching position it had landed in.

* * *

Yes, yes, once again, not much of a cliffhanger, but appropriate for the flow of the narrative. At least things are picking up now!

By the way, sorry if I went overboard with the whole 'Hyuugas are bad at stealth when worried' thing'. I wasn't sure if the joke had overstayed its welcome, but if it did, what are you going to do?

...oh, and that whole 'forgetting Rock Lee' thing? Yeah, I genuinely did. I forgot to give him a single line oof dialogue in the entire scene. Then I realized what I had done and decided to incorporate it. I think either way Sasuke's question still applies, though: how on Earth _did_ I forgot about Lee?

Those who have read 'Sold' may notice that Hinata was bought off for a lot less here than she was there. Or was she? In 'Sold', they used yen to bid on her, while here they used the fictional currency of ryo. I think she came out about even with the rate exchange, but I'm not sure. D'oh well!

Well, with that, see you next chapter! (By the way, the 'obvious thing' from last chapter was 'buy Hinata out from under the elders' noses', for those of you who still don't know.) Thanks for reading and, uh...thanks for reading! Bye!


	3. A Fated Meeting! Neji Makes a Choice!

Hey, a quick question...how the heck did the phrase 'your highness' come into being? It's like some royalty nowadays being referred to as 'your coolness' or something...

Hello once again from AProcrastinatingWriter. Well, I've recently been informed by one of viewers that my OC is what keeps this fan fiction from getting responses, and that he's sure they'll come rolling in if I kill it off. Huh. Let me think that over for a second...

Seriously, it's just like high school, isn't it? To be popular, I have to give up on what I like to do. Welp, sucks for the popular kids, I guess.

**THE LAST DISCLAIMER: **Why the last? Well, to quote Twilight Scribe: "Hm... Everyone does know that disclaimers like these serve no real legal purpose, right? Having them is mostly just tradition nowadays..." Anyway, Naruto does not belong to me, it belongs to Masahi Kishimoto, its creator.

There you go! For everyone still reading despite the OC: enjoy the chapter!

...oh, and according to Masashi Kishimoto (in turn, according to the Naruto wiki), the exchange rate is ten yen to a single ryo. Sorry for short-changing you, Hinata...you're really worth more than that.

_Anyway,_ now you can enjoy the chapter. I think.

* * *

The ANBU Black Ops were on their guard now, as the figure now standing in the 'center ring' of the stage had entered in some way besides the main door, and had managed to slip past them on the way in. All the people in the audience were stunned and silent, even in their thoughts, at the sudden and (perhaps overly) dramatic entrance of the person who had made the latest bid. And the Hyuuga elders? They looked a lot more scared than they really should have, backing away and making small gasps and murmurings at the figure in their midst. And if anyone there could have heard their thoughts, they would know exactly why.

_-I can't see his chakra network,- _thought Shinratsu, holding his breath without knowing it. _-In fact, with the Byakugan...I can barely see him at all! What is this person?-_ He showed no signs of recovering, so Aku, the most courageous of the lot (for vices are useless as evil forces unless a person also has _some _virtue) stepped in. He wouldn't have bothered, normally, but there was money on the line.

"A hundred thousand, you said?" Aku asked of the person at the center of the stage, looking up and down in order to size them up. "Well, normally your being so late and not entering properly would disqualify you, but if you are really willing to pay so much-"

"I am," said the person in a clearly masculine voice, taking a step or two towards Hinata. This allowed everyone to get a clear look at him. He was a tall figure, though not quite the tallest one there...perhaps an inch or two taller than Naruto. Black was his predominant color: he was wearing a black kimono, tied tightly with a same-colored sash, though the sash was gilded with gold coloring. He had long black hair, reaching to his waist, and the parts of his head not covered by the hair were covered by a metallic, featureless mask he was wearing.

"Well, then by all means," said Shinratsu, recovering. Hinata looked up at her buyer, and saw herself. The mask was, apparently, more than metallic: it was mirrored. She could see every feature of her face perfectly, as the mask had been polished to a great shine. It almost appeared as if the man had her own face for a second or two. Shinratsu tilted his head to the side. "But, sir...who exactly are you to have so much money?"

As the figure turned back to the auctioneer, chuckling, Hinata looked at the rest of him, taking note of his features out of habit, thanks to memories of her old kunoichi training, but not truly caring. "Who am I?" the man said, repeating the auctioneer's question. "I am a man of many names, but the one I choose to go by at this point in space and time is Kanji." Continuing to describe him, clothing-wise, he appeared to be wearing boots, colored black, and gloves, colored black as well, but with a bright red symbol on each of them.. A katana was tied into the sash wrapped around his kimono; it would be revealed to be a bright crimson, and like his sash was gilded gold. Its handle, though, was black. And, odder than the mirrored mask, odder than the red hands and black feet, and odder than the sword he carried was the star-colored design on his midnight outfit.

_-Kanji,- _thought Hinata. _-An appropriate name.-_ she thought, sighing. She thought this thought because of the odd starry design. You see, the kimono was covered with various kanji, which the figure obviously took as his namesake. Continuing the color theme, these kanji were golden, and they also came in various sizes. The smaller kanji were words such as 'name', 'nature', and 'metal'. The larger ones were words like 'chaos', 'justice', and 'forethought'. The largest kanji of all, at approximately the center of the mask-wearer's chest, was the word 'life'. _-I am sure to have an interesting time with a man like this,-_ Hinata thought, sarcastically and bitterly both.

"Well, Kanji, are you a noble?" asked Shinratsu as Hinata started crying again, though she remained silent and bowed her head to hide her tears. At least she wasn't stunned into silence anymore, but then, is despair any better? "Or...some kind of ninja?" Shinratsu asked this question because he noticed the figure's armband, which Hinata had missed in her assessment. Actually, rather than an armband, it was simply a forehead protector, sewn onto the sleeve. Whereas most protectors were silver, this one (as fitting the color scheme upon this man), was black. However, instead of a slightly lighter black, the Leaf symbol on the protector was blood-red. It was designed to appear as if it was dripping blood, in fact.

Kanji appeared to look straight at Shinratsu, who suddenly moved, sharply, in fear. (He 'appeared' to look, because with the mask no one could tell for sure.) "Is that really any of your business?" asked Kanji, tilting his head slightly.

Shinratsu gulped, backing off quickly. "N-no, of course not." Inside his brain, the waters of his stream of consciousness had become murky. He couldn't gather his bearings, he could not think straight, he could not even, as he fell over backwards, gasping for air. _-Why...why am I so afraid of just one man?-_

"Now see here!" came a voice from the audience. Everyone snapped out of their reverie, turning towards the blue-haired young man who had placed the last (or, rather, second-to-last) bid. The boy was almost growling, teeth straining against each other. A look of absolute hatred was in his eyes. One didn't need to be a trained psychologist to see that he was used to getting what he wanted and couldn't take _not_ getting it. "That bid is illegal! The man didn't even...the rules clearly state that only those who entered the room by seven o'clock could make bids!"

"I've been in this room since 6:45," said Kanji, without turning to look at the boy.

"Prove it!" shouted the blue-hired blueblood.

"I can't," said Kanji. "But I promise it's the truth."

While the conversation continued in this sort of way for a while, Kanji being accused of breaking rules and then refuting his opponent's arguments, the audience's mind was stuck on one thing. _-6:45?-_ thought Neji from just offstage.

_-He's been here all this time, and not a single one of the ANBU knew about it?-_ thought Sasuke.

Shikamaru blinked, then turned to Naruto. "Exactly how bad are these 'really bad' ANBU, again?"

"Not this bad," mumbled Naruto, leaning forward slightly. The look on his face told Shikamaru that he was very interested in what was happening onstage...well, moreso than everyone else in the room at that moment. "This guy is seriously something else."

"You think maybe..." Sakura began. She gulped, then looked at Naruto. "You think maybe this Kanji guy is here to save Hinata like we are?" She didn't really believe it, but a person had to have hope...right?

Naruto frowned slightly. "I hope so," he said simply.

"And I doubt it," said Shikamaru, frowning as the argument (which had moved from being between Kanji and the blue teen to between the elders and the blue teen) came to a head. His frown deepened to the point where...well, if it had been a pool, the water was being drained. "Nothing is ever that simple when we're involved."

"Alright," Kanji said, finally turning towards the audience and simultaneously breaking up the fight going on. "How about this? Let's overlook any rules I may or may not have broken, and in exchange..." and he shrugged slightly. "Let's quintuple the price, shall we?"

And the crowd goes wild! And why shouldn't they? After all, quintupling the winning bid means...

Kiba stood up. "Get away from Hinata, you slimeball!" And he took a large step forward, plowing through the people in front of him. Akamaru and Tenten, who was also sitting nearby, were barely able to restrain him.

Hinata's eyes were wide again. _-Five hundred thousand ryo?-_ she thought, slowly moving her head back over to the figure, who was now looking at her. _-So much...too much.- _she thought, some part of her refusing to believe that she was really worth that much. Her eyes widened even more than they already were ._-Does that mean that he wants to make me his...- _Kanji suddenly lifted his hand, then slowly reached out for Hinata. She cringed, no longer crying but now very afraid. A few seconds passed.

People hadn't been sure exactly what to expect, but this wasn't it. The crowd quieted, and Hinata slowly opened her eyes. Both of these reactions were set off by a single element: Kanji had gently laid his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Don't worry," said the man softly. "You're going to be okay."

And, for just a second, Hinata actually softened towards the strange-costumed man. She noticed some more of the positive things about him: that his voice, though deep and slightly muffled, was also smooth and non-threatening. Almost romantic. He pronounced his words in the way of a man who was educated, each syllable receiving its proper attention. Actually, his voice wasn't even very deep, just...rich. And his hand. There was a gentle curve to the way he set his hand upon her, though his grip was firm. And perhaps it didn't mean anything, since she couldn't see his face, but Kanji's body language, small amount of it that there was, seemed to indicate a concerned heart.

Then she remembered that he was buying her. As his own personal possession, his 'wife'. She turned her head away, no longer scared, but angry. The man turned back to Shinratsu. "If you would please unlock the chains?"

"Of course," said the elder. It was technically policy to ask for the money first, then to unlock the chains, but Shinratsu couldn't think about anything except getting this strange man as far away as physically possible. He waved Neji on stage, and Neji obeyed, carrying up the unsealing jutsu in his brain and the key to the plain old locks in his hands. Ino tightened her grip on his suitcase, a good indication of how much nervousness and fear he held in her heart. The others leaned forward or swallowed or slumped and basically went one by one through the various emotions one could feel at a moment like this and how the body might react. The chains fell to the floor with an ominous clank. Hinata rubbed her wrists, simultaneously cracking her joints to remove stiffness. She moved on to massaging her neck, which she never felt comfortable cracking. Shinratsu, meanwhile, overcame his fear with greed. "Now, then," he said, indicating for a member of the ANBU guard to come out from his hiding place and keep Hinata guarded until payment was received. The ANBU did one better, sending two of their rank to stand between Hinata and Kanji. "About the ryo..."

"Hmm?" asked Kanji. There was a few seconds of silence. "OH! Oh, right, of course." He shrugged. "Actually, I don't have any money at all."

The total force of all the facefaulting occurring in the room was enough to crack the floor.

Shinratsu stood up first, and quickly at that. "WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THAT THEN?" he shouted, a new bruise added to his collection, as various other people started getting up and asking similar questions of each other. The blue-haired kid looked most annoyed. And he definitely was. In fact, he was so annoyed that he couldn't even speak.

"You asked me my profession earlier," said Kanji, putting up his hands in front of his face, fingers locked together. His thumbs, however, were not laced with the other fingers, instead pointing straight at and touching where his lips would be if his mask was not on. "Do you still wish to know it?"

"What?" asked Shinratsu, angry and confused. He spoke his next sentence through gritted teeth. "What does your profession have to do with-"

"I am Justice," said Kanji.

Every light in the room suddenly went out. Most people in that room gasped. They didn't have time to start murmuring, because after two seconds the lights came back on rather unceremoniously. Now people started murmuring...or rather panicking...because on stage, several copies of the mysterious Kanji had appeared, all but two standing in a semi-circle at front stage. The last two of them actually had the two ANBU in a submission hold. All of them were glowing slightly. Hinata looked around, surprised as one could be without moving from 'surprised' to 'shocked'.

"Light Clone Jutsu," said Kanji retroactively, suddenly undoing what was now obviously a hand sign and moving quickly to Hinata. The two light clones holding the guards twisted their wrists, tossing aside the hired help like it required no effort at all. Admittedly, most ninja are strong, but that was still something of a feat, since Kanji's _clones _moved them with a simple flick of the wrist. Simultaneously, several more ANBU leapt from various directions. The Light Clones drew their katana, leaping to meet their foes.

A great clash was heard.

People started running for the exits now, not wanting to get caught in the middle of a fight that looked to be even a challenge for the ANBU Black Ops. Naruto and his friends, bucking the trend as usual, began fighting their way through the crowd, trying to get to the stage. "Light Clone jutsu," Shikamaru murmured thoughtfully to himself. Then, over the screaming people: "This guy a friend of yours, Naruto?"

"What, just 'cause he uses Light and I use Shadow-woah!" responded Naruto, adding the 'woah' on the end because someone had accidentally (he hoped) slapped his butt in their rush to get out of the room.

"I was thinking more because he's apparently saving Hinata," said Shikamaru.

Naruto shook his head. "I've never seen this guy before in my life."

Hinata looked around, now having moved to shock, as people continued clambering around for the exits, screaming all the way. She suddenly noticed Kanji standing just in front of her, and she believed him to be the real one. (Especially since he wasn't glowing.) He was extending a hand to her, having drawn his katana with the other. "May I?" he asked gently, somehow making himself heard over the din in the room.

Hinata was no longer shocked. In fact, there was something about the figure in front of her that made her feel...calm. That life was okay. Maybe it was the fact that he was obviously here to rescue her, not to buy her as a slave...that was what he was here for, right? She slowly, uncertainly, grabbed his hand with both of hers. He suddenly pulled her in and lifted her up, sheathing his katana in the split second between where her feet left the ground and he caught her in his arms, carrying her bridal-style (ironically enough).

Suddenly, and too simultaneously for it to be a coincidence, the ANBU got through each of the light clones' defenses, and each one was instantly stabbed in a place where a very vital organ would be if they had any organs. Instead of disappearing in a puff of smoke, though, all the clones dispersed in a flash of light that lasted for several seconds, temporarily blinding anyone who was looking at that moment and giving those who looked afterward a lot of trouble seeing what was going on.

Finally, the light faded, and most of the people there rubbed their eyes back into shape. The ANBU looked around wildly, while everyone else just kind of stared at the spot where Kanji was...or, rather, had been until recently. There was, quite obviously, nothing there now.

Shinratsu growled deep in his throat. Where once he had felt fear, he now felt anger, as often happens when the object of fear is removed from a phobic's presence. "You idiots!" he shouted, showing his true nature in the way his facial muscles moved and his voice became an unpleasant screech. "Spread out and find him!"

The ANBU all nodded, then leapt away. Naruto and his friends paused for varying amounts of time ranging from a quarter of a second to two seconds, and then headed outside to meet up again and form a new strategy. "Hold on, Neji," said Aku, as Neji was one of Naruto's friends and was therefore trying to run outside. Neji stopped, then looked back. "You will also go after our 'friend'. Bring him back alive. Hinata, too, of course."

A part of Neji's body twitched, that much was obvious. But very few people, if they had been watching, would have been able to say which part, for it happened quickly. "Understood," he said, before continuing to run out, now no longer going to meet Naruto.

**0-0-0-0**

Humans tend to overlook the blindingly obvious.

Instead of leaping across the rooftops like most ninja in this situation would do (faster, with less witnesses) or running along the ground like an amateur thief (which, despite all his clever tricks and stealth, he technically could have been), Kanji was crouched underneath a window, in the back alley of the building where the auction was being held.

As he predicted, the ANBU had instinctively gone to the rooftops since, after all, they were ninja with a ninja's instincts. And they hadn't looked downward nearly as well as they thought. Why, there were several hundred square meters in various locations near the warehouse that no one had looked at yet!

Kanji waited about five minutes, then stood, Hinata following because her hand was clasped in his. He looked to his left and right a few times, then looked at Hinata. "Shh," he said, lifting a finger to where his mouth would be. It was hard to see, but the full moon helped with the light.

Hinata nodded, unable to resist due to her racing mind. She continued thinking as he ran through a doorway, open, in front of him. It was a kitchen, with a lone chef manning it. The chef seemed to not take notice as they ran past. Hinata saw the reason why when Kanji momentarily paused and pulled out a 100 ryo bill, throwing it over the shoulder he opened the front door with. _-He planned this out in advance,- _thought Hinata, just realizing this obvious fact because her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. Like: _-Why is he going so far for me? Who is this man, behind his mask and this false name...Kanji, right?- _She stumbled slightly, and Kanji paused, looking back at her. "I'm fine," Hinata said.

"Good," said Kanji, nodding to affirm his statement. He looked up. "I suppose here is as good a place as any." And he put his other arm around Hinata's waist, drawing her in close. Hinata blushed at the sudden physical contact as Kanji leaped into the sky, taking Hinata with him. They barely came up to the roof of the building before Kanji turned his body, slamming his feet into the brick side of the structure. They stuck.

Hinata gasped slightly. _-This man _is _a ninja,-_ she realized. One would think she would have guessed earlier, but only if that one was not a ninja themselves. After all: it takes a lot more than a few tricky jutsu to be a ninja. There are several other things a ninja must know. Like stealth, which he had demonstrated at the auction. Trickery, too, which he also had demonstrated at the auction. And, most importantly under the definition of 'ninja' in that universe: chakra control, which he had demonstrated very well just now.

The man lifted her bridal style again as he began running. This time, Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck, not wanting much physical contact with this stranger (admittedly an apparently benign one, but still a stranger), but not wanting to fall even more. "Most civilians don't look up very often," Kanji explained as they ran, leaping across "pits" that were also alleys to people walking along normally. "And most ninja don't look sideways."

"I s-see," said Hinata, stutter coming back. Reluctant as she was to admit it, (and going against the ideals of her feminist friends) she had had more than one fantasy of being rescued from a dangerous situation by her Prince Charming...

...unfortunately, Kanji was not her Prince Charming. Naruto, despite every logical and illogical reason anyone could throw at Hinata, was and always would be her ideal man. Still, she had to admit: Kanji _did _have a certain air about him she kind of liked. Nothing that would ever unseat Naruto as Man of the Hour (her lifetime being that hour), mind you, but he was one of the few people besides Naruto to spark anything at all in Hinata.

"We're almost there, now," said Kanji, then dropped down off the wall a split second later. They were close to the older part of town now, the part that once was going to be a shopping district. Well, as close one could be without being in that part of town and still having new buildings around them. "Are you doing alright?" he asked as he sat Hinata down.

"I'm alright." responded the girl. "Thank you for being so concerned for me, Mr..."

"Kanji," he responded, beginning to walk.

"No," confirmed Hinata, shaking her head. She moved back into stuttering, for she felt nervous about, well, life at that moment. "I m-mean your r-real-"

"No time for that now!" shouted Kanji, suddenly grabbing Hinata's hand and breaking into a run. Just before he reached the gates that signaled the end of downtown and the beginning of the small wilderness leading to the older part of town, another person jumped down in front of them. "Of course," sighed Kanji, letting go of Hinata and motioning for her to step back slightly. He drew his sword as she did so. "So...Neji Hyuuga."

"Kanji," replied Neji, standing from the crouching position he had landed in. "Release Hinata."

"I'm not going to hurt her," Kanji said, getting into a fighting stance. "You have my word."

Neji looked pained, then slowly moved into his Gentle Fist position. "I don't have a choice in this matter."

"We always have choices," said Kanji, shifting slightly for a better position.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps...it's all fate. I can't say I know for sure," said Neji quietly. A determined look, now. "But I do know that I have my orders. I am to stop you and bring Hinata back."

**0-0-0-0**

"So what do we do now?" asked Tenten to the group, who was now sitting in a circle.

"We find Hinata, obviously," said Kiba.

"But exactly how do we do that?" asked Shino, not as a literal question but rather to make a point.

"Easy, Akamaru will sniff her out! Right, boy?"

Akamaru, now changed back into a dog, sniffed the air a few times, though it was half-hearted, as if he was simply confirming what he already knew. He whined, then barked a couple times.

"What?" asked Kiba somewhat sharply.

"What is it?" asked Sakura. "Is something wrong?"

Kiba turned to her and the group at large simultaneously, seeing as they were, as said before, sitting in a circle. "This guy is good. He's eliminated his own scent completely, and he got hold of some of Hinata's perfume ahead of time. He spread it all over town!"

"And my bugs would be far too thinly spread if I sent them throughout the entirety of the city," explained Shino. "They would not be able to communicate with me, nor with each other. We'd never find our target that way." His eyes suddenly creased. "I knew I should have requested additional help and insects," he muttered.

A small sound of befuddlement from everybody. Then Chōji suddenly looked up from pondering something that had been bugging him. He hadn't gotten an answer to his deeper question, but something else had just occurred to him. "Hey, guys," he said, and they all looked at him. "Isn't the fact that this guy knows what kind of perfume Hinata wears a little...creepy?"

Everyone thought for a moment, then shuddered. "Well, hey," said Ino, changed back into her old self (and no longer taking care of the briefcase), "This guy was prepared otherwise. That just means he did all of his research, right?"

"I hope so," murmured Tenten. Everyone else nodded.

Suddenly, Naruto growled. "This is all my fault," he said, angry with himself. He punched the ground. "If only I'd-"

"Oh, Naruto, it's not your fault," said Sakura, pulling him into a hug. "And, hey, you still kept your promise. I mean, even if you weren't the one to save Hinata, you did all you could, and she _was_ saved. So, technically, you did everything that was needed to save her." And she looked up at the rest of the group for confirmation. "Right, guys?"

"Of course," said Lee, thumb up.

"Definitely," enthused Tenten.

"It would certainly appear so," agreed Shino.

Naruto smiled as he left Sakura's arms. Mainly at Sakura. "...thanks, guys," he said softly, realizing that his friends may not have necessarily believed what they were saying was true. Still, they were trying to encourage him and cheer him up. And it's the thought that counts, right?

"Don't thank us yet, because I wouldn't be so sure," said Sasuke, earning himself a whack on the head from each of the girls there. "OW!" times three was heard from him, each one increasing in anger and intensity.

"Do not be so negative!" scolded Rock Lee. "After all, we saw Bright Sunshine Hinata rescued before our very eyes, did we not?" He nodded, arms crossed and eyes closed. "Therefore, she must be safe right now. Mm-hmm."

"Correction," said Shikamaru, "We saw her taken in front of us. We don't know what this 'Kanji's' motives were in taking her yet." He closed his eyes, an unusually solemn look on his face. "For all we know, he just wants the same thing out of Hinata as all the other bidders...he just wants it for free." He opened his eyes again, berating the group as a whole for, perhaps, deceiving themselves. "Why do you think we're out here trying to find Hinata? Just to say hi?"

There was a short silence. Finally, Ino spoke up. "But...but we saw how he acted towards her! He was kind and gentle!" Her face looked off as she said these words, as if she really didn't believe them but truly wanted to. "There's no way a guy like that would-"

"Evil is sometimes obvious, but not always," interrupted Sasuke. "The kindest of faces often hide the darkest of hearts." He looked up at the now-scared group. "I've seen people like that." He smiled slightly despite his gnawing sense of guilt as his eyes drifted away from his friends. "I've been people like that."

There was a much longer silence, taut with horror and sadness. Naruto stood up, a neutral look on his face. This was an even more dangerous sign than Ino's face being neutral. "I'm going to find her." he said simply, walking off in a random direction.

"Not without help you aren't," said Shikamaru. If anyone else had spoken up, Naruto wouldn't have stopped, but the Sixth Hokage had long since learned to trust Shikamaru's strategic heart. Shikamaru stood up now, turning towards Naruto. A short pause. "Do you know which way Neji went?"

Naruto turned now. "I think he went off that way," he said, pointing to his left and behind him. "Why?"

Shikamaru sighed, because he occasionally got tired of explaining things. "The Byakugan," he said simply.

"Oh, of course!" said Sakura.

"With his Byakugan, Neji can track Bright Sunshine Hinata and Mysterious Man Kanji wherever they go! Brilliant!" said (who else) Rock Lee.

**What's with him giving nicknames to everybody lately?** said Sasuke's Inner. Out loud: "Alright then, so that's our plan, right?"

Naruto nodded, smiling now. A good sign. "Track down Neji Hyuuga!"

"Right!" agreed everybody, standing. They all dashed off, Chōji even shouting out some kind of vocalization as a war cry on his way.

**0-0-0-0**

The group's meeting occurred simultaneously with Kanji's meeting with Neji. As the group finished, though there was no direct relation between the two events, Neji put on his Byakugan. He knew this wouldn't work from earlier experience back at the long-ago (it seemed) auction. It was more habit than anything.

"You have your orders?" Kanji said, parroting what Neji had just said. "That's all you can say?"

Neji actually turned his Byakugan off again. Without seeing an opponent's chakra network, it actually made things a little fuzzy in battle. This was a new experience. "Do I need to say anything more?"

Kanji's grip tightened on the black hilt of his blade. He raised it up above his head, though it was still pointed forward at Neji, edge down. He was holding it with both hands, now, too. "I see now. You're the kind of ninja who thinks that 'right and wrong' come secondary to the law and to your honor." He lunged forward suddenly. "You're the kind of ninja I hate the most!"

"Neji!" shouted Hinata, worried for her cousin even though she knew that if he won, it would mean that she would have to go back to that blue-haired boy. Still, she would spend a thousand nights with many different people equally as horrible as that boy before she would allow one of her friends (or worse, a member of her family) to be killed.

Neji had learned, when in battle, to think in pictures, rather than words. Even though one can think one's sentences much faster than one can say them, one can think pictures even faster. Still, I shall attempt to translate the many pictures he thought in the split-second before Kanji reached him into sentences.

_-He is very fast,-_ Neji thought. _-Too fast. And his stance is somewhat unusual. I will not have a chance to get around his guard, and without the Byakugan I cannot see his chakra network in order to know where or how to guard myself.- _He narrowed his eyes, Kanji just a few yards away as he thought his last picture. _-I"ll have to throw him off balance, then.- _"ROTATION!" he shouted, spinning and expelling chakra from all the points in his body. At that point in time in which he used that attack, Kanji's katana was less than an inch from where the limits of Neji's defense were.

With reflexes and speed most ninja would be impressed with and most ciivlians would claim were impossible, the figure suddenly un-bent his knee, driving his foot into the ground. He brought his katana back, tossing it into the air as he jumped forward and up, barely clearing the dome. He flipped as he did so, landing on his hands and somersaulting forward to remove himself from immediate danger. He grabbed his falling katana by the hilt with one hand and immediately turned, a kunai appearing from his baggy sleeve and into his other hand. He tossed it toward Neji.

Neji's Rotation had just stopped occurring when Kanji tossed his kunai. The branch-family member's eyes widened slightly as the kunai missed him by what a hair would call an extremely small distance. He froze in place, contemplating the feel of cold metal on his flesh. It had been a while since he'd felt that.

"...you said you hate me," said Neji, turning his head back slightly. "Yet you did not kill me. Why?"

Kanji slowly stood, closing his hand into a fist but not clenching it. A gentle fist. "It...wouldn't have been right," he finally said.

Neji looked for a few more seconds, then experienced a sharp shot of pain across his cheek. He did not flinch, though, merely lifted his hand up to where the cut had just appeared. He drew back his hand, looking at the blood on his fingers as he turned. "...it wouldn't have been right," Neji repeated. Then he looked Kanji straight on, so that his face appeared perfectly in Kanji's mask. "Is that it? Or is it simply that you missed?"

Kanji not only did not respond positively or negatively to this accusation, but indeed did not even appear to hear Neji as he got back into his fighting stance. "Do you still want to fight me?"

Neji blinked once. "...no," he finally said. "I concede to you. You are a better fighter than I."

Kanji did not move from his fighting stance, rightfully suspicious. "Thank you."

Neji smiled as he continued, though the smile seemed bitter. "However, experience has shown I am faster than you." And he suddenly turned again, running back to Hinata, who did not have time to react as she was still slightly stiff and out of practice from a week with no training. Kanji dashed forward as well, but Hinata could see in the instant before she was grabbed around the waist by Neji that he was, indeed, slower than Neji was. "Forgive me," whispered Neji to his cousin as he ran with her, Kanji not far behind but getting farther. He threw a kunai, but Neji instinctively dodged.

"...forgive me," said Hinata right back as she activated her Byakugan. She lifted her hand to strike a chakra point only to feel something being slapped onto her arm. She suddenly felt very, very sleepy as she lowered her arm, and thus did not lower it with nearly enough force or chakra to hit the point she was aiming for. Or enough accuracy.

"Microscopic needles," said Neji as Kanji fell far enough behind that he gave up on running after the two Hyuugas. Hinata managed to turn her head and look at her arm. There was a small patch attached to it. Obviously some kind of sleeping agent. "Will wear off in half an hour," was the last thing Hinata heard as she fell asleep. Neji frowned. _-Perfect,-_ he thought sarcastically. Suddenly, all the lights in the various windows around him flickered off. He stopped in his tracks, having seen this trick before.

"You_ are_ faster than me," said a voice as the lights came back on. Neji gently set Hinata back down on the ground. "Then again, when I want to, I can travel at..." and another Kanji, glowing, stepped out of the alleyway in front of Neji. "...lightspeed."

_-A clone? At this great distance?-_ Neji thought, moving back into Gentle Fist stance. _-This man is dangerous.-_

The other Kanji caught up again after a few seconds. He paused several feet behind Neji, then drew his blade as he slowly stepped forward. The clone slowly copied the original's movements. Neji turned from one to the other, again and again, trying to decide which one to go for first. Suddenly, both the clone and the original stopped. "I get it now," they said in unison, sheathing their swords.

_-Hmm?-_ thought Neji. As he thought this, the clone suddenly burst in a puff a smoke, as the original stood in its place. There was a bright flash of light behind Neji. _-Did he just harm himself and use a substitution with his clone? What was the point?-_

Kanji stepped forward. Neji moved back into stance, attention now properly focused on a single opponent. "You're not really giving Hinata back to the elders, are you?"

Neji's eyes widened again. This was the third time he'd been surprised that night. A new record. "H...how did you know?"

Kanji shrugged his shoulders, but did not actually bring them back down. His arms were spread. "It didn't seem like something you'd do."

"You know me?"

"I've been watching you," said Kanji, crossing his arms. "All of you."

"All of my clan?" asked Neji, now angry. "All of Konoha? Me and my friends?"

"...definitely one of those options," said Kanji, clarifying nothing.

"How dare you?" shouted Neji, preparing to charge forward.

"Easy, there," said Kanji, extending his arm as a sign to stop. "Guardians must watch if they are to guard."

"Guardians?" breathed Neji, incredulous.

"We can go into all this later," said Kanji, taking a step forward. "For now, you need to give Hinata to me."

"I'm not letting you put your filthy hands on my cousin!" shouted Neji.

Kanji stepped back again. Then he slowly moved into a normal person's way of standing. "It's not like you to get this angry, Neji," said Kanji. He suddenly looked as thoughtful as a man with no face can look, elbow in hand and chin in other hand. "At least, that is what I have heard from others talking about you..."

Neji breathed rapidly, trying to calm himself down. "I won't let you," he repeated, as if he needed to clarify.

"You have to trust me when I say that I need to hide her, not you," pleaded Kanji.

Neji started. Then he forced himself back into his fighting stance yet again. "I don't. I don't trust you!"

Kanji sighed. "You can't tell the elders you failed at your mission."

"Why not?" asked Neji. "It is a valid excuse. One I cannot be held accountable for. A ninja occasionally failing his mission is nothing he can be punished for. And I refuse to let Hinata be put through-"

"You're very poor at lying," interrupted Kanji. "They'll find out where she's at in a heartbeat."

Neji thought for a second. It was true, he knew that. He moved, slowly, from his first stance and into a slightly different one. "What do you suggest I do, then? Trust you, just like that?"

"Trust me or distrust me, the ANBU are on their way," said Kanji, looking over his shoulder. Neji looked there too, up at the rooftops. There were, indeed, very distinctive figures leaping across them. "They probably saw my little light show. I apologize; that was very careless of me. And now one of us needs to hold them off."

Neji considered things, but very quickly, as the ANBU were, indeed, very close by. "So why don't you hold them off, then? Why me?"

"Do you have a plan?" asked Kanji. "A place to hide her they will never look in?"

Neji considered things again. "...no," he finally said. He looked up at their pursuers, exiting his stance. "You do?"

"I do."

The ANBU could be seen by a civilian now, if any had been nearby. They were closing fast. Neji shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know if I am strong enough."

There was a moment of silence before Kanji started walking forward. "I trust you," said Kanji simply.

Neji looked at Kanji. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said, somehow being completely sincere and very sarcastic at the same time.

Kanji walked past him on the way to Hinata. "Are you scared of the consequences of your actions?"

"Somewhat," admitted Neji. "How did you guess?"

At the same time, Kanji picked up Hinata as gently as possible. "You seemed scared...and you don't seem like the type to be afraid of death." Neji lowered his head whilst Kanji paused again. Then he looked back at Neji. "I said that people always have a choice." He tilted his head. "You said that you do not know if people have freedom of choice, or if fate chooses for you." He looked towards the exit. "Either way, it is time a choice was made. Will you help me, or not?" And he ran off in the silence that occurred. Well, almost silence. The ANBU's footsteps were loud and clear now.

Neji looked up yet again, this time at the ANBU, who had just arrived. "A choice," he said quietly, getting into his stance again. The soldiers in front of him were surprised at his actions, and therefore off guard. "I make my choice," Neji sai, just as softly but much more determined as he activated his Kekkai Genkai. Another yottosecond of stunned silence, and he took the opportunity to attack.

**0-0-0-0**

"Are you sure he's this way?" asked Ino.

"Positive," said Shino. "I saw the ANBU headed in this direction. Either Neji is this way, or Kanji is." He thought for a split-second. "Perhaps both."

"Good," said Naruto. "We're coming, Hinata..."

"Look, I see him! Neji!" shouted Sakura.

"Neji!" said several of the group, smiling and waving greetings. Chōji suddenly frowned as they got closer. "Hey, guys, does something look a little...off to you?"

"Oh, man...what the heck is going on?" asked Kiba (the next to see the problem) as Akamaru suddenly stopped on one of the roofs and whined.

All of the others looked a bit more closely at the street Neji was on and gasped. They took the last part of their journey in much larger leaps and bounds, as what they'd seen had disturbed them. Neji, standing alone, looking badly beaten and disheveled. Around him: approximately a dozen members of the ANBU Black Ops, all unconscious.

The group landed close to Neji. His teammates were first to talk to him. "All-Seeing Neji!" said Rock Lee. "What has happened here?"

Neji took a few more deep breaths. Then, he suddenly smiled and laughed, a disturbing thing considering A) He was covered in cuts and bruises and his left leg looked broken and B) He was Neji Hyuuga. "I can't believe it..." Neji said. "I beat all of them...all by myself..." and he laughed again, though it was obvious he didn't actually find anything funny. He suddenly stopped laughing, and fell over.

Tenten caught him. "Neji!" she cried. Then she shifted him so she could carry him off, left arm across her shoulders. "Why did you-" she paused, looking around. "W-what happened to that Kanji guy?"

Neji chuckled. He looked back at the rest of the group as best as he could. "I'm...sorry. He was...too strong for me..." he murmured truthfully, sinking into unconsciousness.

Everyone was startledly silent upon hearing these words. "Woah," said Sasuke finally. And it takes a lot to impress Sasuke Uchiha.

"Um, guys?" asked Ino. Everyone looked at her. She looked worried. "Do we...really have the ability to beat this guy? I mean, if Neji wasn't strong enough..."

Everyone was silent for a couple seconds. "All together, yeah," said Shikamaru finally. "Maybe even as a group of two or three. But one on one?" And he shook his head. "It's a drag, but I think Sasuke and Naruto are the only ones who would even stand a chance."

Everyone was silent for a couple seconds. Or, at least, they would have been, but Naruto spoke up. "Never mind that," he said sharply, looking around. "Where's Hinata?"

Akamaru (who had just arrived recently) sniffed the air, as did Kiba. "I don't smell anything," said Kiba. "Not even any of Hianta's perfume. At least, not nearby."

"And if this fight's been going on as long as it would appear," said Shino. "They could be anywhere in the city by now."

Naruto looked down. "So...it's back to square one?"

"More like back to square zero," said Sasuke. "We have no leads." He looked Naruto in the eye, a rarity even nowadays. "I'm sorry, Naruto. But all we can do now is wait."

Naruto gave a great sigh. "That's what I was afraid of."

* * *

And now that this chapter's over, an announcement: anyone wondering what the question mark behind the OC in the description means? Here's a hint: it means that Kanji might not actually be an OC. Shocker, I know!

Seriously now: I'm putting forth the possibility (and a rather strong one at that) that behind Kanji's mirrored mask is a recognizable person from the Naruto canon. Then again, he might not be. I could just be sending you on a wild goose chase. Ha ha!

...alright, I'll give you all one serious hint: It's not Sai. I know I said Sai was gone and we'd get into the reasons why, but the reasons why are _not_ 'Sai is Kanji'. There are different reasons, which we will eventually get into.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a super-special-awesome day! (Term is trademarked by LittleKuriboh, aka CardGamesFTW, aka Martin Billany.)


	4. Time to Celebrate! The Votes are In!

Hey, a quick question...why do hairsprays smell so badly?

Hello, this is AProcrastinatingWriter with chapter 4 of my fic...part of the reason I changed this fic's main focus to Drama/Romance instead of Humor/Romance. Don't get me wrong, there'll still be humor in this fic, but judging from this chapter (and previous ones) it will be ever-so-slightly subordinate to all the drama going on. Sorry for changing on you, loyal leaders!

Well, with that said, I'm sure you want to get reading, so enjoy!

* * *

"_10,000!" shouted one of the demons, horns gleaming in the light of the flames all around him._

"_35,000!" shouted another, spurting forth slime and mucus. _

_Hinata desperately tried to break the several chains clamped onto her in various places. The head demon, a monstrous being if ever there was one, declared her sold, yet the bidding continued for some reason. "Please...stop..." she groaned out._

"_42,000!"_

"_68,000!"_

_Hinata fought the urge to scream, knowing that would only increase the creatures' desire for her flesh. Struggling against the chains that held her, she suddenly felt something wet and warm and thick drip upon her nose. She looked up, and another splotch of red landed on her forehead. _-Blood,-_ the girl thought, scared. She squinted into the darkness, apprehensive of whatever she might see there. She suddenly gasped as the various beasts surrounding her moved in closer and closer._

"_I'm sorry, Hinata..." mumbled Naruto, hanging from the ceiling by various pointed devices. It was a wonder he wasn't dead, considering how many times he'd been impaled. "I tried..."_

"_Naruto..." whispered Hinata as the evil beings slowly crawled closer, and her vision blurred, breathing coming in shallow gasps that weren't anywhere near adequate. She could feel the demons' breath now, as the bidding continued and the ground below her turned into burning quicksand,_

"_80,000!"_

_and the chains got tighter and tighter,_

"_88,000!" _

_and the air began to swirl and suffocate her even as she breathed it in_

"NARUTO!" Hinata yelled, bolting straight upright.

She panted several times, eyes wide, trying to recover from the nightmare she'd just had. She placed her face in her hands. Trembling slightly. Trying not to cry.

"Are you alright?" a comforting voice asked. Hinata brought her head up, then turned it towards the voice she had just heard. Kanji. Kanji, who was sitting in a simple wooden chair across from the bed she was lying in. She blinked, reconnecting with reality and beginning to put the nightmare behind her. Then she continued looking around, confused about where she was.

The wooden chair wasn't the only thing 'simple' about the place Hinata was in. The room was small, and sparsely furnished. A dresser drawer, the chair, the bed she was currently in. The walls all seemed to be made of dirt. A small fire was in the center of the room, and some concoction or other was bubbling in a pot on top of the flames.

Suddenly realizing she hadn't answered Kanji's question, Hinata blushed slightly, embarrassed, as she looked back at him. "Oh, um, yes. I'm okay."

"That's good," said Kanji, standing up and slowly walking over to the pot, which appeared to have reached its boiling point, if the steam forcing the lid very slightly off its resting place was any indication. "You have been through a lot. I'm sure it must have been quite traumatic for you." He kneeled down to the pot, waiting a few seconds for some unknown signal before doing anything else. "Try and relax, now."

Hinata looked towards her savior, (or at least, she was pretty sure he was). "Th-thank you for rescuing me," she stuttered. The stranger made no response. Hinata looked around once more. "So...is this where you live, Mr..."

"Kanji. I believe I've told you that already," said the masked man, lifting the lid of the pot. He took a deep breath in through his nose (though with the mask he was wearing Hinata had no clue how he could), smelling the stew he was making. "Ah. Perfect."

Hinata sighed. "No, I mean-"

"And yes, it is," interrupted Kanji, reaching for a bowl and a ladle, both made of the same kind of wood the chair was. "Sorry I couldn't offer more."

"Oh, no, that's quite alright," said Hinata, reassuring. "It's more than satisfactory. In fact-"

"One cannot afford to live in a stable home when one is on the run," said Kanji, as if he hadn't heard. "Though, admittedly, this is my first time doing work outside the law."

_-Work?-_ Hinata thought. _-Was he hired to spirit me away?-_

Kanji finished pouring out the liquid and food products from the pot, and then turned to Hinata, and the room was small enough that he could reach out his arm from the approximate center and offer her a bowl. "Beef stew? Not exactly what you're used to for breakfast, I'm sure, but-"

Now Hinata interrupted him. "It's perfect," she said, smiling and blushing slightly as she grabbed the bowl and spoon that were offered. She took a small bite. "Mmm..." she hummed appreciatively. She looked back to Kanji, smiling a genuine smile.

"Good?" asked Kanji.

"It's excellent," she exclaimed. Well, she would have, had she not been the shy type around strangers, and thus very quiet even when enthusiastic.

Kanji chuckled. "Thank you," he said, standing.

Hinata blinked at him, then at the second bowl, laying unfilled on the ground. "What about you?" she asked.

"I'm not hungry," Kanji said, moving back to his seat.

Hinata looked at him for a few seconds, concerned. Then she looked back to her bowl. She smiled. "Actually," she said, setting the bowl on the floor (for she never felt comfortable eating when others refused to), "I'm not hungry either." And she smiled at her rescuer.

Kanji was silent for several seconds. "Alright, then," he said. "Perhaps we should just...talk."

"Alright," said Hinata, sitting on her knees slightly and turning, still smiling. "What should we talk about?" Polite as ever.

Kanji tilted his head. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

**0-0-0-0**

"Send for them," commanded Naruto, sitting back at his desk. The meeting with the Elders of Konoha had just finished and, as expected, they had voted with Naruto, not against him. And thank goodness for that. Now all that was left to do was deliver the good news to the Elders of the Hyuuga Family and watch them squirm.

And to worry about Hinata, of course.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and sighed as the messenger he had just been talking to stepped out the door. Simultaneously, Sakura stepped around the man, "Excuse me! Sorry!" and into the office. She looked across the desk at her Hokage. "Hey there!" she said, trying to lift the mood in the room, and doubting she would succeed. "I brought some doughnuts!"

Naruto slowly looked up. "Hey, Sakura," he said, smiling a little.

Sakura walked up to his desk, swinging the sack of baked goods along with her hands. "I know, it's not exactly Ichiraku's," she said, setting them down on the wooden structure, "But then again, you really shouldn't have ramen first thing in the morning anyway."

Naruto chuckled, once. "And doughnuts are better for me?" Then he looked sad. "Thanks," he mumbled.

Sakura looked sad too, copying him unconsciously due to their years of working together, being friends, and eventually dating. "You're worried about Hinata, huh?" she asked. Naruto sighed in what she could guess was an affirmative. The pink-haired girl tried to smile, for his sake. "Well, you shouldn't," she said, bringing up a good point. "I mean, no sense worrying about things we don't know about, right?" She smiled a little more, closing her eyes and tilting her head. "She'll be okay. Just keep telling yourself that, and before you know it she'll be home, safe and sound."

Naruto sighed again. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, grabbing the bag. He looked inside of it, and blinked. He looked back up at Sakura, a small but genuine smile on his face. More than he'd expected to feel until he knew for sure Hinata was alright. "All strawberry?" he asked. "Heh...a few years ago, I wouldn't have gotten the subtle hint."

Sakura giggled, blushing ever-so-slightly. "See you in a couple hours," she waved to her half-boyfriend, turning, "At Hinata's freedom party!"

Naruto grinned. "Right!" he exclaimed as Sakura turned completely, still smiling (a little bit more genuine now), and exited. As soon as the door shut, the grin dropped off of his face. He stared back into the bag, frowning a little bit. _-Everything she said sounded a little bit like something I'd say to her if she were going through something like this.- _He shook his head, opening up a drawer near his knee and gently placing the bag inside. _-So why can't I stop worrying? It's not like me to worry.- _He sighed, one last time. _-Sorry, Sakura...but I don't really have much of an appetite.-_

**0-0-0-0**

"About me?" asked Hinata, pointing to herself as if she needed to affirm what she was saying.

"Indeed," said Kanji. "I'm very interested."

Hinata brought her legs up in front of her, creating a physical wall, for she was suddenly nervous. "Wh-why are you interested?" she asked, fearful that perhaps Kanji had ulterior motives for saving her.

"I had to get to know you as a target in order to rescue you effectively," Kanji responded. "I don't want to keep thinking of you as a target. I'd prefer to think of you as..." he tilted his head. "...the girl you really are."

Hinata lowered her head slightly. "Well, thank you for that, but..." she slowly sat back, thinking of the best way to phrase her question. "I'm not really sure I feel comfortable discussing something like that with you."

Kanji nodded thoughtfully. "I can understand that." He tilted his head. Seemed to be his way of expressing emotion. "So let's talk about some different things about you that are less personal things." He tapped his hand against his knee. "For example...what is your favorite food?"

Hinata blushed again. "Um..." she said quietly.

"Still too close to home, huh?" asked Kanji. "Well, then...you pick the topic of discussion. Something that won't make you feel so nervous."

Hinata thought for a few moments. In truth, she was more than curious about the stranger in front of her, but she felt like she shouldn't ask him about himself. It would be rude, after all, to ask that kind of thing when she refused to answer any of his questions about her.

One question finally occurred to her. "Oh!" she remembered. "What happened to Neji? Do you know?"

Kanji shook his head. "I wish I could say I did, but I don't." He placed his hand on his chin. "Though, considering the fact that the ANBU have yet to find us, I should think he made the right choice, at least."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinata, inquisitiveness building.

"Well, after Neji's knocking you out," explained Kanji, looking off to the side in order to think, "I caught up to him. We talked, and I left him behind, telling him that he needed to stop the tracking squad from reaching me if he wanted you to be safe." He shrugged, something he seemed to do a lot. "Like I said, he must have made the right choice."

Hinata lowered her shoulders, worry magnifying as she did so. "I hope that he's okay."

Kanji chuckled. "He knocks you out, and you're still worried about him?"

Hinata suddenly stood from the bed, a look of fire and, strangely enough, also a look of ice in her eyes. "He is my cousin!" she shouted, angry with the apparent scoffer.

"Easy, easy!" shouted Kanji right back, hands in the air. He actually sounded a little scared. "It was a compliment!"

"A compliment?" asked Hinata skeptically, raising her eyebrow and pursing her lips. She was anything but shy when it came to defending the people she cared about.

"Yes," laughed Kanji nervously, moving his hands slightly to the side and turning them. "Not many people would be willing to forgive so easily." He put his arms down, nodding slightly. "I admire that."Hinata sat down again, still skeptical. "Especially since I have such a hard time forgiving, myself."

The skepticism disappeared in fear of Hinata's curiosity, which had always been stronger than most of her other personality traits. "A hard time forgiving yourself?" she asked.

"Oh, no," said Kanji. "I meant, I myself have a hard time forgiving others for the bad things they've done."

Hinata thought she detected a little bit of falseness around the corners of his statement, but she was not certain. It was hard to be certain, thanks to his... "Your clothes," ...lack of readable body language. Or at least the kind the Byakugan was used to.

"Hmm?" asked Kanji.

"They're very...unique," she said, unsure if she was prying too much. "Do you mind if I ask...why my Byakugan can't see through them?"

"Oh, not at all," said Kanji. "Actually, besides the admittedly outlandish design, there's nothing special about these clothes at all." He shrugged. Again. "I just wrote some genjutsu into the fabric to make people _think_ that they can't see through them. Same with the mask." And he pointed his thumb at his face.

_-Genjutu?- _thought Hinata, curiosity still going strong. _-So if I were to release the genjutsu, I could see his face...?-_ With this thought, she moved her hands into the proper position.

Kanji was there in a flash, grabbing one hand and pulling it away from the other before Hinata even realized that he'd moved. Obviously the sleeping agent hadn't worn off quite yet; her kunoichi reflexes still weren't up to par. "Don't!" Kanji shouted, worried for more reasons than one might initially suspect.

"Wh-what?" asked Hinata, eyes wide at his sudden movement and cheeks red at his close proximity to her.

"Two genjutsu," he explained breathlessly. "If you break the first, the second activates." He let go of Hinata's hand, which was snappishly pulled back in order to get it away from the physical space in which he was holding it. "And believe me when I say that you _don't_ want the second one to activate."

Hinata inched back slightly, uncomfortable being this close to any strange man, even one who so obviously meant her no harm. "Th-thank you," she stuttered, mentally cursing her tendency to do so.

Kanji looked at her for a few seconds, bent over slightly. Then, standing up straight, he looked towards what Hinata presumed was the entrance. "I do believe," he said, then paused, then continued, turning his whole body towards the 'doorway', "That it is time to go back."

**0-0-0-0**

"What you have done is immoral and terrible," said Naruto to the dozen or so men before him, hands steepled in front of himself in a way very reminiscent of Tsunade before him. "It sickens me to my core that people like you exist in this world, and you have no idea how much I wish I could punish you for your actions."

The Hyuuga elders did not respond, for most of them were scared stiff of Naruto and his venemous glare. Those who weren't scared were simply livid, but knew their place, and knew not to talk while their Hokage was. Several, however, were thinking rebellious thoughts.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, and his voice turned into a growl as he continued. "You all are hereby stripped of all your powers and privileges as elders of the Hyuuga clan. This is because the clan is no longer to be separated into Main and Branch houses." His mouth upturned, a smirk. "And in addition to that, we're dividing up all your unecessary property amongst the members of the former Branch house-"

"WHAT?" shouted Shinratsu, forgetting his place along with several other former elders, who vocalized their very loud complaints as well. This went on for some time, until finally...

"And if any of you slimeballs has anything to say about it," Naruto said, standing as he raised his voice to a louder point than any of the old men could hope to match, "Then you can get your sorry butts out of my village! Is that understood?" No response, for they were all terrified. The Sixth Hokage slowly sat down again. "Good," he responded to the unsaid 'Yes, we understand'. "Now, then...there are several other provisions and requirements to these new laws we have in place, and I'd really rather not spend all day explaining them." His eyebrows creased, and one could almost swear his gritted teeth turned into fangs. "So get out of my office, and if you're really curious, pick up a written copy. You know where to find them, and if not, don't come crying to me!"

"Now that's hardly fair!" began Kasamaru.

"Fair, not fair, who cares?" asked Naruto. "It's still legal, right?" And the sarcasm and irony were not lost on the elders, who had been around a long time and knew something about both. "Now, if any of you ever darken my doorway with your presence again, I swear I will _find _an excuse to toss your carcasses in jail for the rest of your miserable lives. Get out of my sight."

A few moments of silence passed, and finally Aku bowed. "As you wish, Lord Hokage," he said, so convincingly that if one didn't know better they might expect he actually meant it. The men slowly filed out, one by one, Aku and Shinratsu last, for Aku had to quietly convince a fist-clenched Shinratsu to come along too.

"We will fight this," whispered Shinratsu back to Aku as the door closed behind him. "The terms given so far are absolutely tyrannical, and I have no doubt that the other terms..." And it was around here the door shut completely, blocking off his voice from being heard anymore.

Naruto heard him, but made no indication he had. At least, not until he was sure that the man had left. He leaned forward on his desk, vaguely noticing that it had been a while since it'd been polished in an effort to not think about anything too much. The blonde breathed out a small puff of air as he rubbed his left temple, leaning slightly on his hand. "Oh boy," he sighed, mentally exhausted. "What a day."

"You're telling me," said a voice behind him.

Naruto's eyebrows lifted slightly, and he turned his chair around to face the possible threat. He gasped. "H-Hinata?" he asked, looking at the girl, who was blushing as she was carried in the style of brides once again by the mysterious person who called himself Kanji. Kanji was the one who had spoken, by the way. Not Hinata.

"Naruto!" Hinata did say this, however. She blushed some more as she smiled wide, and Kanji opened the window. She got out of his arms and climbed into the room, almost falling once, but managing to stay upright.

"Hinata...you're okay!" Naruto's face lit up as he stood, embracing the Hyuuga, who blushed harder than she had for a while. Kanji stayed outside, feet gripping to the wall and back bent so he could look inside.

"Y-yes," Hinata said. "I'm okay..." and here she looked back, "Thanks to Kanji."

Naruto slowly let go of Hinata, now watching the man in front of him. He stepped forward slightly. "So you rescued her after all, huh?"

"Indeed I did," said Kanji, without any movement of the body whatsoever. Hinata found this very strange. People always moved their body at least a little bit when they talked. It was natural. "Unlike you."

"Wha..." Naruto began, stepping back slightly. He interrupted himself: "Well, thanks. I know what you did was technically illegal and all, but as Hokage, I have the power to pardon you." He smiled. "So you don't have to hide anymore, okay?"

"Well, I'm very glad you can do something," Kanji said, a bitter tone in his voice.

Naruto's mouth opened slightly as his eyes sank downwards. He looked confused. As was Hinata. _-Is there some bad blood between Naruto and Kanji that I don't know about out?- _she thought, looking back and forth between the two. _-Who exactly is under that mask?-_

"Well, uh..." Naruto racked his brain for the next best thing to say. "Hey. You've gotta be using up a lot of chakra, just hanging out there." He stepped to the side, indicating his office. "Why don't you come inside?"

Kanji was silent for a few seconds. "Look," he said, finally making a movement, in that he crossed his arms. "I'm going to make this absolutely clear, because you're obviously too dense to get it: I don't like you. At all."

"How could you say that?" Hinata shouted as she simultaneously stepped forward, and all before Naruto had even managed to process what Kanji had said. "Do you have any idea how many people Naruto has helped? All the great things he's done?" She looked on the verge of punching out the man she had been intrigued with just a few minutes ago as she continued. "Naruto is sweet, and kind, and a great leader! He's strong, and brave, and determined, and he always keeps his promises!"

"Always?" asked Kanji before she could continue.

Hinata started, remembering the promise Naruto had made to her less than a week ago. She suddenly found herself at a loss for words, stunned as she was, so Naruto stepped in for her. "If you have some qualm with me," he said, using his best diplomatic language, "Please, feel free to speak what's on your mind. I'm always open to hearing how I can become a better Hokage to lead my people."

Kanji was silent. As a direct result of this, everyone else was silent as well, for several seconds.

Eventually, Hinata slowly shook her head, finding her voice again, though it was small and silent now. "You don't know him," she said. "You don't know Naruto at all..."

"I know him," said Kanji, continuing to stare at the blonde-haired young man. "A lot better than any of you realize."

After a few seconds more of silence (in which Hinata, with sad eyes and frowning lips, stared at the black-and-gold-dressed man), Naruto outstretched his hand. "Well, no matter what your feelings are about me, I still wish to extend my thanks to you for rescuing Hinata from the situation she was in. And I want you to be certain you'll receive that pardon."

A few _more _seconds of silence, and Kanji finally leaned forward, grabbing Naruto's hand in his own. They shook. "You're welcome," Kanji said. His grip tightened. "Lord Hokage," he spat out, as if the words were poison on his tongue.

Then, all at once, he let go again and dropped off the side of the building at the same time. "Kanji!" Hinata shouted as Naruto rushed (though there was only a step or two to rush) to the window to see what would happen to the man.

After looking around for a few seconds, he looked back up at Hinata, and shrugged. "He disappeared," he said, blinking several times as if to clear his head.

Hinata blinked as well. "...seriously?" she asked, befuddled.

Naruto appeared to be thinking about something else. "Hey, Hinata?" he inquired. "Did you mean all that stuff you said about me?"

Hinata attempted not to blush, though it was hard for her whole body not to turn red the way her heart was pumping. "Y-yes," she said, cursing her stuttering for the second time that day. "Ev-every w-w-w-word."

Naruto was thoughtful again. He'd matured a lot in the last five years (Well...in some ways, anyway) and, thanks to dating Sakura, knew a little bit more about how a girl's mind worked. Still, he couldn't claim to know everything about girls, and though he had a hunch what was going on in this particular girl's pretty little head, he couldn't say anything for sure one way or the other. And, either way, he had a feeling that pursuing the matter at this point and time might not end too well. He chuckled. "Thanks, Hinata!" he said, unconsciously imitating his much younger self. "That means a lot to me!"

"Y-you're welcome," said Hinata, blushing.

Naruto suddenly looked sad. "Hinata, I...hmm," he began. He would have finished, but he was extremely nervous and worried.

Hinata dipped her head to the side. People were giving her a lot to ponder today. _-What on Earth could make Naruto nervous?- _she thought. Suddenly, interrupting both their trains of thoughts, her stomach growled. Hinata was embarrassed again, though this time she didn't blush, at least. That one bite of beef stew hadn't been a very filling breakfast.

Naruto looked, surprised, at the young lady's complaining stomach. Then he laughed again. _-I'll ask her later...once I've got a plan of attack, and she's not so hungry.- _He walked back to his desk, and pulled out a certain bag he'd been saving. "You like strawberry donuts?" he asked, figuring that, considering everything, Sakura wouldn't mind.

**0-0-0-0**

Hospitals were boring under usual circumstances. But these were not usual circumstances. These circumstances of being a criminal and being guarded twenty-four hours a day by ANBU whilst you lay, beaten and broken, in a hospital bed, really got the blood pumping. Especially when several of the ANBU guarding you were friends of the people you'd beaten up less than an twenty-four hours ago.

Neji Hyuuga sighed. Life was funny sometimes.

All of his friends had already come in to see him, except for Naruto, whom Neji guessed was busy. And Hinata, too. Couldn't forget about her. _-She's the reason I'm in this mess,- _thought Neji, smiling wryly.

"What?" the young man heard, muffled, from outside the door. He raised himself up slightly so he could hear better, causing several of the guards to tense, for they were afraid he might be trying to escape. The guard just outside the door continued speaking, though he was quieter now, so that no one could hear besides whomever he was talking too. Particularly Neji. Wise, considering Neji was indeed trying to listen in.

An eyebrow raised itself just the smallest bit as Neji wondered _-What could make an ANBU react like that?-_

Finally, the door opened, and the guard who had been speaking walked in. "Alright, the suspect has been pardoned," he said, restrained exasperation in his voice.

Both of Neji's eyebrows shot up like they were arrows fired from bows, and several of the people in the room turned to one another to better murmur. _-I've been what?-_ Neji thought, not complaining, but definitely confused.

"You heard me!" ordered the ANBU, who obviously held at least a small amount of seniority over the other members. "Pardoned! Direct order from the Hokage!" He waved his arm as he said his next sentence, emphasizing the fact he was giving an official order. "You are all dismissed! Move out!"

"Yes sir!" said all the ANBU, so quickly that anyone would hear what they said as a single word. A nanosecond after saying this, they leapt into the air, seemingly disappearing. I would tell you where they went, but not being a ninja, I have no clue. The leader followed them a split second after. He would have followed sooner, but he was taking one last look at the person who had attacked several of his men last night and was apparently getting away with it.

As soon as he left...or, rather, a few seconds after he left, giving Neji plenty of time to be shocked...Naruto and Hinata stepped in. "Oh!" Neji gasped, smiling just a little. "Hinata! You're safe!"

"Brother!" said Hinata to her cousin (for household traditions die hard), happy to see him alright. She ran over to his bed, and hugged him.

"Ah!" screamed Neji, still tender.

"Sorry," squeaked Hinata, letting go as Naruto smiled.

"It's alright," laughed Neji. "We're even for the sleeping patch." Hinata giggled at this, showing she forgave him for that offense. He was glad that was the case.

Hinata looked to Naruto quickly, smiling, then back to her cousin. "I heard about all you did for me. Thank you."

Neji smiled too. A rare sight. "I was just doing my duty, little sister." Household traditions or not, that was the first time he'd added the 'little' on. "I've been hurt before. I can handle it. I am a ninja, after all."

"Yeah, sorry that all happened to you," said Naruto, coming into the conversation. "But hey, on the bright side, you never have to listen to those old guys ever again." He smiled, giving the 'ok' sign with his hand. "Not to mention I'm pretty sure I can get you some neat stuff out of the deal."

Neji laughed again. Perhaps it was the painkillers. Then, as they must have worn off, he was serious again. "Kanji," he said.

Naruto looked serious as well. "Right. I met him just a half hour ago." A few seconds passed, and he smiled again, weary. "He doesn't like me too much."

"Really? Why's that?" asked Neji, surprised.

"We don't know," said Hinata. "He didn't give us much of an opportunity to find out, either."

Neji slowly closed his eyes, then smiled. And chuckled. "Well, from what I hear, a lot of people don't like you at first, Naruto. He'll come around."

Naruto chuckled right back. "Like you?" he asked.

"Precisely," said Neji, opening his eyes once more. He looked at Naruto. "And just in case I don't get a chance...the next time you see him...and you _will_ see him again, I'm sure of that..." the last pause was the longest one yet, "Tell Kanji 'thank you' for me."

"No problem," smiled Naruto.

Hinata looked back from her crush to her cousin. "By the way," she said, as Neji looked up to her, shifting slightly on the bed to try and find a comfortable position (for hospital beds sucked), "We were going to have party in order to celebrate my freedom."

"Well, that's good for you," said Neji, smiling. "But I'm not too fond of parties, myself. Besides, I'm injured. I couldn't come if I wanted to."

"We know you're injured," said Hinata, slightly mischievously. "That's why..." she thought for a moment.

"Maybe we should just show you," said Naruto, finishing for her. He turned the doorway, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Alright, guys, come on in!"

A wave of people suddenly crashed into the hospital room with such speed and audacity that even Neji Hyuuga was visibly surprised. "Get well soon, Neji!" shouted Lee.

"We got your favorite kind of cake!" said Chōji, holding up the large monstrosity as more people spilled inwards.

"Looks like today's your lucky day!" enthused Tenten as yet more people, about half of whom Neji knew, rushed into the room, many bearing gifts. Which seemed unnecessary considering all that had already been given Neji by his friends/

"It's a 'Get Well Soon' party!" said Hinata enthusiastically. "And one to celebrate your freedom _and_ mine, Neji!" She smiled hugely. "The branch system is gone!"

"...hooray," squeaked Neji, who as he said was never one for parties. Especially not ones this crowded.

* * *

Hooray indeed.

Well, everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and weren't expecting too much in the way of author's notes, because I don't have much to say at all. Thanks for reading thus far, and have an awesome day. Buh-bye!

...I never liked strawberry donuts, myself.


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